For the Love of a Child

by QuinntanaEndgame

Santana and Quinn Fabray-Lopez have been wanting to adopt for the second time ever since their daughter, Chloe, got older. However, when their agent Lisa calls about Sofia Alvarez, they quickly realize adoption isn't always smooth sailing. Not my best summary. Rated M for smut and abuse, warnings are also inside. Give it a chance? Please and thank you.

1. Chapter 1

For the Love of a Child

A/N: I don't own any Glee characters. I know some of you are probably mad I'm starting a new story instead of updating 'Wrong Turn' (and I know I'll probably regret it) but unfortunately I lost inspiration to write it. I don't plan on abandoning it though so hopefully that doesn't happen.

There of course are trigger warnings for mention of abuse so if that's too much, feel free to skip those parts, you won't miss much and I won't be offended at all. Enjoy!

P.S. Quinn didn't have Beth, just FYI. And imagine AnnaSophia Robb as Chloe.

---

Chapter One

No one is perfect, it's impossible for anyone to not make a mistake. It's how we learn. Without making mistakes, you can't be wise. However small or big, a mistake can either hurt you, or someone else, even without you realizing it. At least that's what seven-year-old Sofia Alvarez thought to herself everyday.

It was a mistake when her neighbor turned out her lights after hearing Sofia scream at the top of her lungs for help. It was a mistake when her best friend's mother turned the other cheek, finding another suspicious bruise. It was a mistake when the doctor didn't ask more questions, and it was a mistake when her own mother didn't ask any.

Sofia Alvarez feels she doesn't have anyone in her corner. Marcos Sanchez, her mother's boyfriend, has two sides. The side she likes, comes out when her mother or other people are around. He's nice to everyone and can even be funny. Then there's the other side that comes out when no one is around.

Marcos Sanchez was always nice before he lost his job. Before, he had everything. A beautiful girlfriend, a steady job with a great income and a great house. When he was fired, all that is left was the beautiful girlfriend and her daughter. Now they live in a tiny apartment in Lima Heights, the 'sketchy' part of town, as the teens in the area calls it.

Marcos is now in charge of the household chores, cooking, and Sofia. However, Marcos doesn't care for his new role. He finds it degrading and embarrassing as a man. If he had somewhere else to go, he would, but instead he spends his girlfriend's money on alcohol and even a few drugs to throw himself a pity party.

For the last few months of summer vacation, it had been hell for Sofia. Her mother worked more to pay rent, utilities, and other necessities. She was also forced to pay for Marcos' bad habits.

Sofia has a hunch her mother knows he's abusing all the alcohol she's paying for, and what he does to her daughter when she's not around. What she doesn't know is why she let it happen. Not just the daily physical abuse she endures, why didn't she stop one of the worst days of her life from happening?

---

For the Fabray-Lopez family it was just a normal day.

Santana and Quinn Fabray-Lopez woke up the same time they do every morning for work. The pair greet each other with a tired smile and even a kiss before getting ready for the day. The couple usually take turns making breakfast and today it's Santana's turn while Quinn wakes up their 15-year-old daughter Chloe.

Quinn and Santana knew their daughter's teenage days were going to be difficult. Chloe has had an attitude ever since she was eleven. Now only fifteen, she's breaking the rules, she's defiant, and they suspect she's hanging around bad influences, no matter how much she denies it.

Although their daughter has become quite difficult, having a teen in the house makes Santana and Quinn miss having a little one. For a while now the couple have been on a waiting list to adopt for the second time. Once they finally get a call from their agent, Lisa, the Fabray-Lopez family will grow.

"Chloe, time to get up." Quinn says as she shakes the teen. School may not have started just yet but the Cheerios, the same squad Santana and Quinn cheered for, have practice.

"It's not until nine." She whines putting the comforter over her head.

"It's eight thirty, get up."

Quinn rips the comforter off Chloe then joins her wife in the kitchen. Santana is standing at the stove making french toast with bacon and sausage. Quinn wraps her arms around the Latina and kisses her cheek.

"Is Chloe up?" Santana asks.

"Probably not. I'll give her five more minutes, though."

"She better. If she's late, I'm late."

Santana is not only the Spanish teacher at her old High School, she also coaches for the same cheer squad she used to cheer for with her wife and best friend Brittany S. Pierce, whom is her assistant.

When they graduated high school, their plan was to get out of Lima, and they had but things don't always work out the way you want it. Although none of the unholy trinity were happy with it at first, they're all very happy now.

"Don't worry. She wants to make captain this year. She can't afford to be late." Quinn says breaking the embrace to make a pot of coffee. And as if on cue, Chloe walks in, bed head and all.

Although she's adopted, Chloe could easily pass as Quinn's daughter if only the teen had hazel eyes instead of brown. But shares the same blonde hair and fair skin with Quinn. Even before the adoption was official, the teen always felt apart of the family.

At the tender age of two, Chloe was put into the foster care system when her parents both overdosed on heroine. Luckily for Santana and Quinn, they were next on the list and were the perfect match. Chloe took an instant liking to Quinn and from then on the two blondes formed a special bond. Santana couldn't help feel a little jealous in the beginning, however, that didn't last. She knows her girls love her just the same.

"Sarah just texted me." Chloe greets taking a seat at the table with her brand new iPhone 7. "She'll be late for practice, she's taking her permit test today."

"Good morning to you, too, mija." Santana sarcastically says.

"Morning." Chloe mumbles. "If Sarah passes, I'll officially be the only one of my friends who doesn't have a permit."

"You know the rules. You'll get yours when you can behave." Says Quinn.

Chloe groans. "If you didn't have all these stupid rules, I'd have my permit by now."

"If we didn't have these rules, you'd be more out of hand than you are now. Probably doing some kind of drug in Lima Heights with-what's his name, babe?" Santana asks.

"Who?"

"That kid, the one with the long hair, he's always waking around the neighborhood." She gestures with her hand then puts some french toast on to a plate to give to Chloe.

"Liam."

Santana chuckles. "Right."

Quinn smiles at her wife's childishness while she pours a cup of coffee for them. As the blonde passes Santana, she gives Quinn her plate before they sit at the table.

"Why do you have to laugh every time someone says his name?" Chloe asks Santana.

Santana shrugs then changes the subject. "Remember after practice I'm taking you to the mall to do more school shopping. So I don't want to see you talking to any of the football players or even Sarah, Annie, or Mia. Go to the showers right after practice, ok? I don't want to be at the mall all morning."

"Ok, ok."

Santana rolls her eyes while Chloe texts one of her friends. Then the Latina snatches the iPhone 7 from Chloe's hands. "Finish eating so you can get dressed. I've never been late as a coach or cheerleader and I'm not going to start now."

Much like Santana had, Chloe rolls her eyes.

"Do you still want me to meet you at the grocery store after work?" Quinn asks Santana.

The Latina nods. "I usually forget something and we need to have everything for the cook out." Every year before school starts they throw an end of summer cook out.

"Ok. I only have three houses to show but I'm going to try the one on Maple again. So I don't know how long I'll be."

Suddenly Chloe pumps her fist in the air while Santana groans then retrieves a couple bills from her purse siting on the counter.

"I told you she's not going to sell that house." Says Chloe.

Santana shakes her head. "That's ok, there's still time. Today she's going to sell it, I can feel it my bones. Double it." She says confidentially retaking her seat, giving Chloe her money.

"I'm glad to see you two are enjoying my failure." Quinn grumbles.

"Of course I'm not, mi amor." Santana assures her wife, earning a smile. "I'm losing my money so far, it isn't enjoyable for me." She adds.

Quinn just rolls her eyes. "You two better get moving." She points to the time.

Both Chloe and Santana jump out of their chairs then put their plates into the sink. Chloe returns to her room to get ready while Santana packs them some snacks, leaving Quinn to clean up the kitchen. Once the snacks are packed, Santana puts on her shoes then checks the time again.

"Chlo, let's go! I'm leaving without you if you're not ready!" Santana shouts to the second floor.

"I'm coming!" Chloe shouts back then a few seconds later runs down the stairs. "Bye, Mom, I love you!" She yells into the kitchen. Quinn joins them in the foyer to say goodbye with hugs and kisses to both her daughter and wife.

"I love you, have a good day at work." Says Santana after kissing her wife. "Get me my money back." She whispers in the blonde's ear.

"Why don't you just not bet on me selling this house?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Santana teases.

Quinn shakes her head, albeit with a smile as she watches her two favorite girls leave. Santana catches the blonde staring and winks causing Quinn to blush like a school girl. She also feels nostalgic watching Santana take Chloe to cheer practice. It takes her back to their daughter's very first practice when she was only seven.

Chloe had seen the pictures and even watched the videos of her mothers' cheering. The little girl told everyone who would listen she wanted to be the best cheerleader just like her Mom, Mami and even her "Aunt" Brittany.

It feels like forever ago. It's been so long since they had a little one in the house, and Quinn has recently been feeling impatient waiting for the call from their adoption agent. Santana has been assuring her they'll get a phone call soon but Quinn isn't sure her wife's bones, or Mexican third eye, will be right this time.

Putting the thought aside, Quinn punches in the code for the ADT security system before getting into her car and driving to work. Quinn also doesn't feel she'll ever sell the house on Maple drive, however, doesn't show it in front of co-workers. Even as they tease her, she doesn't show them how she really feels.

The first house she's showing is a small two bedroom home with a one door garage for a single mother and her son. While giving the woman a tour, Quinn couldn't help but get semi distracted by the little boy patiently playing with his toy cars, pushing them around every room they go into. Although, Quinn wasn't too distracted to sell the house.

The next house she shows to a family of five. Only one of the three children were present, however, as the parents claimed their twin boys were working. Quinn also watched the little girl play with her dolls while day dreaming about her own family growing. Again, despite the distraction, she's able to sell the home.

By the time Quinn arrives at Maple drive, she's feeling slightly more confident than she had earlier that morning. Only slightly, though. The house isn't ugly, it's had a remodel on the outside and a few touch ups inside, but it does not make up for the old pipes, old electric wires, and to top it off, the owners are asking too much for it.

"I still don't know." The woman says with uncertainty after Quinn shows the family the kitchen. "It's a pretty nice house but I'm not sure if it's worth the price."

Quinn wants to tell her she's right on the dot but keeps it on the tip of her tongue.

"Yea, I'm not sure it's worth it either." Her husband agrees. "We've already been evicted from our last house from all the work we put into it." He says with some embarrassment. "Are the plumping and electricity as old as this house?"

Quinn sighs deeply. She can't lie to them. As much as she would love to have bragging rights to sell this house, she can't let the family be evicted for the second time.

"I'm going to be honest with you, this house definitely isn't worth what the owner is asking for. I've had many arguments about the price, they refuse to change it. But I promise, I'll definitely find you something more in your range and fits your family."

"I hope so. I can't live with my Mother much longer." The man grumbles.

Quinn chuckles as her cell phone rings. The blonde excuses herself then checks the I.D. Her heart beats wildly against her chest, this is the phone call she's been waiting for.

"You know we don't care if they're a boy or girl, all I want to know is their name." She says into the phone.

Lisa, their adoption agent, chuckles. "You've been expecting my call?" She teases.

"Of course not but I have been thinking about how much I wanted to get this phone call. So, fill me in, what's their name, how old, and when are we picking them up?"

"Her name is Sofia Alvarez, and she's seven-years old. But you won't be picking her up, I'll be bringing her to you but before that, I have to talk to you and Santana about a few things in person. I'll probably be over around four or five. This one is complicated. The adoption won't even be official until we're sure you and Santana can handle this."

Quinn frowns then covers the mouth piece with her hand before turning to the couple patiently waiting for her. "Why don't we reschedule tomorrow? I'm really sorry, but I've been waiting for this call."

The man waves her off. "It's ok. As long as we find something, I can deal with my Mother. We'll see ourselves out."

"Thank you. Just call my secretary to make the appointment, have a nice day." She doesn't know why, but Quinn waits until their out of ear shot before returning to her discussion with Lisa. "What do you mean until you're sure we can handle this? What makes this girl different?"

"That's what I want to discuss with you and your wife. I'm so busy right now and it's not a topic that should be talked about over the phone. I'll see you later, try not to worry until then, ok?"

Quinn scoffs. "I'm not making any promises." She jokes. When the call comes to an end, the blonde freezes with her phone pressed to her ear for a moment then Quinn groans as she runs her fingers through her short hair.

She wasn't expecting this. It had been so easy to adopt Chloe, Quinn didn't think there could be a complication the next time they try adopting.

Santana won't be happy about this. Quinn thanks. Especially since I won't be able to explain to her why we might not get so lucky this time.

Despite the uncertainty, Quinn also reminds herself they have to stay strong no matter the outcome. One day they will adopt another child, whether it be today, or next year, it's going to happen. As Santana would say, she can feel it in her bones.

On her way to the grocery store, Quinn calls her boss to let him know she's done for the day then tries thinking of a way to tell her wife about the conversation she had with Lisa. She even rehearses it in her mind all the way to the store.

Inside, Quinn walks down the rows of long isles in search of her wife and daughter and finds them in the freezer section getting milk and eggs.

"I have good news and bad news, what do you want to hear first?"

Santana sighs. "Bad, no, good."

"Lisa called. A seven-year-old girl, Sofia Alvarez, needs a family."

"What's the bad news?" Chloe asks before Santana even has enough time to celebrate.

"She said this time is different. The adoption won't be official until the agency are sure we could handle this situation. That's all I know, she said she'll explain everything when she comes to the house later around four or five." Quinn adds before Santana could ask.

"Did she at least say if Sofia will be with her?"

Quinn thanks for a moment. "No, and I didn't think to ask. I wasn't expecting for her to basically say we may not be able to adopt her anyway." She explains.

Santana slowly nods her head. "Ok, let's not panic or think of the worst case scenario. Let's just get we need for the cook out and go home."

Although Quinn is surprised by her wife's positivity, that's exactly what they did. By the time they get everything they need and drive back home, it's already almost four.

Santana reminds Chloe she has to help put away all the groceries and even confiscates the teen's phone again.

Once the food is put away, Chloe takes her phone back before going to her bedroom. Santana and Quinn take advantage of the alone time in the living room to talk.

"So how do you really feel about this? I was surprised you were so calm at the grocery store." Quinn brushes her fingers through her wife's dark locks while the Latina rests her head on Quinn's lap.

Santana snorts. "You sound like a therapist." She teases. "I'm not sure what I feel. I have more questions than anything." She admits.

"Me too. What could of happened to this little girl for Lisa to question whether or not we could take care of her?"

Santana shrugs then looks up at Quinn. "Whatever it is, I think we can do it."

Quinn flashes a weak smile. "I hope you're right."

Santana turns her head to kiss Quinn's thigh then winks. "My Mexican third eye is always right, baby."

Quinn laughs when a thought occurs to her. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I didn't sell the house."

Santana groans and swears in Spanish making Quinn laugh when the door bell rings, causing the married couple to go silent. Santana is the first to recover. She gets up from the couch with a groan then holds her hand out to Quinn and pulls her up. Silently the couple walk over to the door holding hands to greet Lisa and right away notice she's alone.

"Don't look so disappointed. If you still want to start the process of adopting Sofia by the time I leave, then I'll bring her over tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, Lisa." Quinn apologizes. "Come on in. Make yourself at home." The couple step aside to let Lisa in then follow her into the living room.

"Could you not beat around the bush with this?" Santana asks a little too harshly. "I just want to know why this time is so different." She says more gently as an apology.

"It's ok, I understand." Lisa waves her off then takes a deep breath. "Sofia has been through a lot, more than any seven-year-old should have to go through. After her Father passed away, her Mother has been dating a Marcos Sanchez." She begins to explain, although with some difficulty.

"We have reason to believe he's been physically abusing her. That's why it's different this time." The couple are speechless. This is definitely not what they were expecting. "Sofia won't even talk to anyone. A neighbor has been suspicious for a while and the moment she heard furniture being thrown, she called the police, who called us. Gabriella, her Mother, is in jail for child endangerment."

"That's-um-unexpected." Quinn finally speaks up. "I just thought she had a mental disability or something not-"

"I know." Lisa cuts her off seeing the blonde struggle to wrap her mind around the news. "If it's too much for you, I can have another fam-"

"No." Santana interrupts her. "We may not have dealt with this situation before but on some level you have to feel like we can do this, or else you would have taken Sofia to another family by now." She points out. "It sounds to me like she just needs lots of love. We can do that." She argues.

Quinn smiles looking at her wife full of pride and cradles the Latina's hand in her own.

"I'm happy to hear that." Lisa retrieves a few papers and a pen from her messenger bag then slides it on the coffee table in front of the couple. "You know how this works. I'll be back tomorrow with Sofia around two or three. Does that fit in your schedule?"

"That should be fine. I have work but I could use a vacation day to take off." Quinn says as she's next to sign the necessary papers before Lisa takes them back.

"I'm glad you both decided to take this on. She probably would have to stay at the orphanage facility. And believe me, she wouldn't do well if she had to stay there any longer." Lisa says as she stands up. "It's ok, I'll let myself out."

Santana and Quinn remain seated. When they hear the front door close, the women finally release a breath they hadn't realized they held in.

"I have mixed emotions." Quinn admits. "I'm happy we can provide a home, and love, but I also feel so much sympathy for her, and I'm a little scared this might be too much for us." She confesses.

"I feel the exact same way but we have to be positive. If it becomes too overwhelming, we can always get some help. But for now, I wanna feel excited about this. We've wanted to adopt again for a long time."

Quinn smiles brightly. "You're right, babe, it's going to feel so nice to have a little one in the family again. I want to be excited, too."

The couple pull each other into a hug as Chloe walks in the room.

"When are we picking her up?" She asks knowing why her Moms' would be celebrating.

"We're not." Santana answers for them. "Lisa is bringing her over." The Latina then turns to Quinn and has a silent conversation with her wife.

"Sit down, sweetie, we have to talk about this."

---

After their talk with Chloe, Santana reminds Quinn they don't have anything for Sofia. They need clothes, furniture for her bedroom, everything, even some school supplies. They have some things they saved when Chloe was younger but aren't sure any of the clothes, or shoes would fit and they didn't keep any of her old furniture.

So the small family make a trip to Ikea for cheap furniture on their budget, making sure everything is delivered to the house that night. Then they go to the mall for lots of clothes and shoes after calling Lisa to ask for Sofia's sizes.

It was late by the time Santana and Quinn finished putting together the new furniture so the couple sleep in later than usual the following day. Chloe is already awake texting away on her phone and watching tv.

"Did you eat?" Santana asks in Spanish, not fully awake yet.

Chloe frowns. "Mami, you're speaking Spanish." Quinn chuckles, following her wife.

"Sorry, mija. I'm not awake yet." She apologizes. "Did you eat?" She repeats in English.

"Yea, I just had cereal." Santana nods. "Is it ok if I go over Sarah's and spend the night with Mia and Annie? Sarah's Mom is picking me up."

Quinn frowns. "You don't wanna be here when Lisa drops Sofia off?"

Chloe shrugs. "I just figured she would feel overwhelmed or something." Although not convinced she's telling the whole truth, Santana and Quinn have a silent conversation.

"That's fine but you're not spending the whole day over there." Quinn says.

"K." Chloe jumps up then goes to her bedroom to pack.

Santana and Quinn keep themselves occupied with breakfast to distract themselves from day dreaming about meeting Sofia. When they're finished eating, the couple wash the few dishes in the sink together. Quinn dries the last plate when Santana wraps her arms around the blonde from behind and trails feather light kisses to her neck.

"I think I just heard Chloe leave."

Quinn moans as Santana hits a certain spot on her neck. "Lisa should be coming over soon. I don't want our moans to be the first thing Sofia hears."

"We have enough time for a quickie."

Quinn moans even louder as her wife's hand wanders between her legs, just putting enough pressure to tease the blonde. Then before she knows it, her thong and pajama shorts are to her ankles, and she's siting on the counter with Santana's head between her thighs.

"Oh yea, right there, San. Ugh." She moans loudly as her thighs stiffen and squeeze Santana's head. The Latina helps her wife ride it out then trails her lips up Quinn's leg, to her abs all the way up her neck and jaw.

"We'll finish this tonight. Lisa will be here shortly."

Santana presses their lips together then goes upstairs to the master bedroom to shower and dress for the day. For a moment Quinn is in a sex induced haze before finally recovering. The blonde cleans the counter then joins her wife upstairs. When Quinn is showered and dressed, Lisa finally arrives with Sofia.

"I don't know why but suddenly I'm really nervous." Santana admits. "What if she's so traumatized she won't even like us?"

Quinn flashes a sympathetic smile. "We'll definitely have to gain her trust but we have to be patient. We got this, remember?"

Santana snorts. "Right." She says with a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Quinn smiles.

"I just realized how after-school-special we sound."

Quinn shakes her head then takes a deep breath. A small part of her is nervous, too, but, they got this. The couple clutch each other's hand for support as they greet Lisa and Sofia. Lisa is kneeling to Sofia's height and quietly having a discussion until she realizes the door is open and stands up.

"Sorry about that. She's pretty shy."

"That's ok. Come on in." Quinn answers for them. The couple step aside and watch as the young Latina trails behind Lisa, keeping her eyes on the floor. Both feel sympathy towards her and already unknowingly make the same promise. Protect and love her. Despite knowing they may not be able to adopt her.

In the living room, Quinn and Santana sit at the opposite couch of Lisa and Sofia.

"Where's Chloe? I feel like I haven't seen her in forever."

"She's staying at a friend's house." Santana answers this time.

"Oh, I assumed all of you would be here for this." Lisa sounds surprised.

"Chloe said she didn't want Sofia to feel overwhelmed." Even saying it out loud, Quinn doesn't feel like she totally believes the story their daughter told.

Lisa just nods and changes the subject. "Sofia, honey, remember the very nice couple I was telling you about? This is Quinn, and her wife Santana." She introduces them.

Finally looking up at them, Sofia doesn't say anything. She just looks at them both, however, the trio notices she looks at Santana slightly longer before diverting her eyes back to the floor again. Lisa is a little disappointed at the lack of response but Santana and Quinn don't mind. They understand the little girl is just scared.

"Mi amor, why don't we show Sofia her room?" Santana suggests.

Quinn smiles at the little girl's direction to get her more comfortable. "I think we should let Sofia decide. What do you think, sweetie, do you wanna see your bedroom?"

Sofia is still looking at the floor but nods slightly, enough for the adults to notice. Then she follows the trio to the second floor, behind Lisa, silently observing everything they pass. Reaching the bedroom, there are purple letters on the door spelling out her name.

Inside, there is practically everything a little girl would want in her bedroom. Santana and Quinn are surprised themselves they were able to put all the furniture together in the short time they had.

"Wow, my daughter would love to have a room like this." Says Lisa, attempting to get a response out of Sofia. "You've got a ton of toys, a comfy bed. Check it out." She encourages.

Sofia inspects the bed, testing if it's comfy, as Lisa put it. Then she walks over to the large doll house and runs her fingers over the roof before moving on to the next toy as the adults watch her.

Spotting a doll with dark hair and brown eyes, Sofia picks it up. She runs her fingers over her face, hair and dress then suddenly throws it against the wall. In an unexpected fit of rage, Sofia begins throwing all of the toys and even removes the blankets from the bed.

Lisa does her best to stop her outburst while the married couple are in shock. However, Santana is first to respond and tries to help Lisa calm the little girl.

"It's ok, sweetie. Just give us a chance. If you give us a chance, you'll see it's not so bad." She unintentionally says in Spanish. But it works. Sofia calms down then runs out of the room.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Lisa asks with concern.

"Yes." Both Santana and Quinn say without hesitation. "We already signed the papers." Santana reminds the woman.

"I'll go look for her." Quinn volunteers but Santana stops her.

"Don't. Give her a minute. She's just feeling overwhelmed. We'll look for her when it's time to eat. Who knows maybe we can lure her out with food." She jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Well, I have to go." Lisa says checking her watch. "Thank you so much for doing this. Call if you need anything." Lisa gives both women a hug.

"I'll walk you out." Quinn offers.

While Quinn escorts Lisa to the door, Santana goes to the kitchen to prep the meat for dinner. Passing the laundry room, the brunette notices a small foot sticking out from behind the washer machine. Although she wants to comfort her, Santana lets her go.

She takes out the chicken breasts from the freezer then runs them under warm water in the sink to thaw.

"I wish I at least knew where she's hiding." Quinn says walking into the room.

"She's in the laundry room, behind the washer."

Quinn narrows her eyes in confusion. "You found her already?"

"I just saw her little foot sticking out. I didn't talk to her though." She explains.

"Ok. Need help with dinner?"

Santana smiles. "Si, gracias."

As the couple cook dinner, Sofia remains hiding behind the washer machine. The raven haired little girl just felt so overwhelmed and angry. She just exploded and after realizing what she did was wrong, Sofia got scared and hid.

Now she could smell dinner from the kitchen, and its making her stomach growl. However, she's not certain she wants to come out from her hiding spot. Despite how nice the pretty women seem to be, Sofia knows first hand that can change.

But the longer Sofia stays in her spot, the more hungry she gets. The floor in the laundry room isn't very comfortable either. It's hard and cold. Sofia crawls until she's by the doorway and peeks her head out toward the kitchen. Santana is doing something at the counter while Quinn is behind the brunette peppering her neck with kisses.

"I think the potatoes are smooth enough." Quinn says into her wife's neck.

"Ok, set the table, por favor."

While Quinn retrieves the plates, Santana puts all the food in the middle of the table.

"Should we set a plate for Sofia?" Quinn asks.

Santana nods. "She'll get hungry sooner or later."

Sofia has gone almost a week without eating before, and despite her stomach screaming for food, the young Latina is more comfortable in the laundry room. When the woman are no longer in the kitchen, she'll eat.

Once they finish, Quinn rinses the plates to put them in the dish washer, leaving one for Sofia on the table, hoping it'll be eaten before the food gets cold.

"I'm going to call Chloe." Santana says already dialing the number.

Quinn turns to her wife to ask to put the phone on speaker when she notices Sofia quickly go back into the laundry room. "Why don't we go in the living room." She suggests.

Santana looks to Quinn confused and the blonde points to the laundry room. Getting the hint, she follows Quinn into the living room. As soon as they're gone, Sofia rushes into the kitchen and digs into her dinner, not even bothering to use silverware.

Its been so long since the last time she had a decent meal. (She was offered plenty of food at the orphanage home, but the food wasn't the best.) Now that she's finally eating, it only takes minutes to get everything down, including the juice. Sofia had eaten so much so fast, the girl belches loudly then covers her mouth, frightened the pretty women in the other room heard.

For a moment she waits to see if the women heard then she puts the plate and cup into the sink. As she does, one of the women scream from the other room, causing her to drop the plate. Sofia's heart pounds rapidly against her small chest as she watches the glass shatter into pieces on the hard tile floor.

The pretty women emerge from the living room to inspect the damage. Before either one of them could say anything, Sofia is crying hysterically and apologizing in Spanish. Quinn crouches to Sofia's height as she attempts to calm her down.

"It's ok, sweetie. We're not mad." Sofia just cowards into the corner. Quinn turns to her wife with pleading eyes, silently begging for her help. Santana crouches next to Quinn and does her best to calm Sofia.

"Sh, sh, sh. It's ok, it's ok. It's not the first glass that broke in the house. We can buy another one, we're not mad, sweetie." She tries in Spanish remembering it helped last time the little girl was upset.

"Lo siento."

"I know you're sorry. It's ok, we forgive you. Calm down, beautiful."

Sofia's sobs die down to sniffles and hiccups, but remains in the corner. Santana offers a smile to help calm the child more then asks Quinn for the broom and dustpan to clean up all of the broken glass. As she cleans, Santana informs Sofia of everything she's going to do before she does it so the sudden movements don't frighten her.

Quinn watches on with pride and slight jealousy, wishing she could calm the little girl with as much ease as her wife. But nonetheless she's still grateful Santana seems to be already bonding with Sofia. Quinn throws away the broken glass then puts the broom and dustpan back in the hall closet.

"Remember when Chloe was little? We need to establish a routine now before there's chaos." She reminds Santana. "Or we'll regret it later when she wants to sleep all day because she stayed up all night."

"Right." Santana nods then turns to the now calm Sofia. "Feel better now?" She nods. "How do you feel about a bubble bath, huh? I think we still have some toys Chloe had when she was little. How does that sound?"

Sofia cautiously looks between the women, trying to read their faces. She doesn't like taking baths. Marcos took that joy away from her. So she shakes her head.

"I like showers." She almost whispers. Santana has to strain her ears to hear.

"Ok, one of us will have to stay in the bathroom with you though, ok? Better safe than sorry." She winks.

"What did she say?"

Santana stands up with a sigh. "She likes showers more. I told her one of us has to stay in the bathroom with her then. Chloe didn't take a shower until she was eleven. I'm only allowing it now cause that's what she's comfortable with." She explains.

"Ok, then I guess you should stay with her. We're not sure she can even speak English and we forgot to ask Lisa during the chaos. Plus, I think she's already taken to you anyway." Santana blushes.

"I don't think Lisa knows if she does or not. Remember she said she wouldn't talk to anyone. And she'll warm up to you, too." Santana pecks Quinn's lips then turns back to Sofia. "Come on, sweetie. You can pick out your pajama's and then you can shower."

Santana holds out her hand but Sofia ignores the offer as she sneaks past the women. Quinn offers a sympathetic smile.

"Maybe she hasn't taken to me after all."

"Be patient, remember?" Quinn says as she playfully smacks Santana's ass while she walks past the blonde.

Santana chuckles. "Right."

Sofia is already in her new bedroom picking out a pair of pajama's so Santana goes into the bathroom to get the shower ready. Sofia has a hard time choosing between the Hello Kitty pajama set and the purple one covered in hearts. Thinking she hears the shower head turn on, the Latina quickly decides on the hearts before grabbing a pair of underwear and going into the bathroom.

However, inside she realizes the shower head is off. Santana is still siting at the edge of the tub while her fingers sit under the faucet to make sure the water is warm but not too hot. Sofia finds herself zoning out staring at the running water.

Sofia is back home, in the little apartment in Lime Heights. Her Mami is at work while Marcos is watching NASCAR on television in a tank top and boxers, drinking beer. Sofia doesn't have many toys, so she's forced to play with an old doll her Mother had when she was her age.

"Sofia, get me another beer." Marcos grunts followed by a loud belch.

The little Latina drops her old doll and goes into the kitchen to get Marcos his beer. Sofia opens the fridge and grabs one. As she goes to take it to Marcos, she clumsly trips over a forgotten shoe Marcos had already warned her to put away. The can of beer hisses loudly as it explodes all over the hardwood floor, grabbing Marcos' attention.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." She says right away. However, it falls on deaf ears.

"Fucking bitch, look at this mess!"

Marcos picks up the beer can and throws it away. Then the man stomps into another room. Sofia can hear the water running and hides under her bed, despite knowing he'll find her anyway. A few moments later Marcos barges into her room and drags her out from under the bed.

"No, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, it was an accident!" She shouts while squirming and kicking, trying to get Marcos to put her down.

"I don't wanna hear it! Bad girls like you deserve to be punished!"

In the bathroom, the water is still running in the tub. The water is so hot Sofia can see the steam slowly raising. She screams even louder her throat hurts. But no matter how much she cries and pleads, Marcos still forces her into the boiling water.

Santana is worried. As soon as the water got warmer she turned to see Sofia zoned out and has been trying to get her attention ever since. She doesn't want to scare the girl so up until now she's tried calling out her name. Seeing how it's not working, she tries something else. Santana reaches over and gently puts her hand on Sofia's shoulder.

"Sofia." She tries again.

The brunette jumps back. "No, don't make me!"

Santana's frown deepens. "Don't make you what, sweetie? You're going to take a shower, remember?" Sofia remains silent, her eyes fixed on the floor. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shakes her head. "Ok, that's ok." There's a short silence.

"Sorry." Sofia whispers.

Santana flashes a sympathetic smile. "So, you do speak English." She attempts to lighten the mood.

Sofia slowly nods. "Yes. Sometimes I speak Spanish when I'm really scared or mad." She whispers.

Santana takes a moment to silently count to five. It angers her to know Sofia was hurt so much a simple task like taking a shower frightens her. "I know being in a new place is scary, but you don't have to be afraid here. We're not going to hurt you and we'll make sure no one ever hurts you again. I pinky promise." She says holding up her pinky.

Sofia hesitates before wrapping her smaller pinky around Santana's as the older Latina offers a friendly smile.

"Are you ok to take a shower now?"

"Yes."

"Ok, I'll give you privacy so you can get in. To put the shower on, just pull this up." She points to the lever on the faucet. "Shout when you're done and I'll check on you, ok?"

Since Sofia is still a little jumpy, Santana decides to leave the little girl to shower on her own.

"K." She shyly says.

As promised Santana kept checking on Sofia while she showered. When with her wife, Santana clarified the little girl does in fact know how to speak English. She was going to tell her about the episode Sofia had but her wife's lips were distracting. Once she's finished, Sofia gets dressed then brushes her teeth before joining the women in the living room.

"Since school hasn't started yet you can watch one movie before bed." Quinn says. "But only one. By the time it's over, it'll be too late to watch another." Sofia just silently nods.

"Well what are you waiting for, pequeña? Go pick a movie. We still have some old ones when Chloe was younger." She encourages.

"Is Chloe your daughter?" Sofia quietly asks Quinn, surprising the blonde. "I saw pictures." She points to the hall way. "She looks like you."

"Actually, we adopted her. So she's our daughter." She explains.

Again, Sofia nods then turns to the shelf of movies. "Can I watch Finding Nemo?"

"Of course you can." Quinn says. The blonde puts the movie into the DVD player then gets comfortable cuddling into Santana's side. Sofia eyes the couple then opts for the love seat closer to the tv instead.

It's ten at night by the time the movie is over. Sofia is fast asleep, along with Santana. Despite being a high school teacher and cheer coach, she still hasn't learned not to stay up too late when she has to wake up early in the morning. Quinn first trails kisses across her wife's collar bone and up to her neck and ear.

"The movie is over." Santana just grunts. Quinn chuckles in response and straddles Santana's lap. "I'm taking my top off." Instead of eagerly waking up, Santana's eyes widen in shock. "Relax, I'm teasing, and Sofia is asleep."

Santana glares at her. "Don't start what you can't finish."

Quinn arches her brow knowing how much it turns Santana on. "Who says I won't? You already promised we'd finish our activity in the kitchen." She reminds her.

Santana holds on to Quinn's hips with a groan while biting her lip. "How did I forget?" Quinn just gestures toward the sleeping child. "Right. Let's get her to bed." Quinn climbs off her wife so the brunette can get up. "Do you wanna carry her up?"

"Yea." Quinn blushes.

Carefully she scoops Sofia up then the couple take the younger Latina into her new bedroom and carefully tucks her in.

"Sleep tight, pequeña." Santana whispers.

Quinn turns on the nightlight then the couple go to the master bedroom. They change into their pajama's then climb into bed. Quinn spoons Santana from behind and begins teasing the Latina with her hands while peppering feather light kisses to her neck, earning a moan from her wife.

"I hope Sofia is a deep sleeper." Quinn husks into Santana's ear.

---

The following morning Santana and Quinn are still in bed sleeping in each other's arms. Having stayed up most the night making love, the couple are tired. Sofia, however, is wide awake. She makes her bed in case the pretty women are as strict as Marcos was about a made bed. Then she quietly goes downstairs to get something to eat.

Not knowing where everything is kept, Sofia searches through the cabinets until she finds some food she likes. In one, there's a box of Pop Tarts. Whenever she used to go grocery shopping with her Mother, she always bought a box for her.

Sofia grabs the silver wrapping before ripping it open and uses a chair to reach the counter so she can put them into the toaster. Unlike most people, Sofia likes her Pop Tarts warm. When the two pastry treats pop up, Sofia hears the front door open and hides between the refrigerator and the wall.

Chloe suddenly walks in texting on her phone then sets it on the counter before looking for something to eat. As she does, she notices the Pop Tarts still in the toaster and frowns in confusion, then shrugs it off getting a box of cereal. Chloe retrieves a bowl, then getting the milk, she jumps and screams seeing Sofia.

"Where is he, I'll kick his ass!" Santana shouts holding up a bat with Quinn behind her. Seeing it's just Chloe, Santana lowers the bat. "Why did you scream?"

"She's scared the hell out of me." Chloe points to Sofia cowering in the corner. Both Santana and Quinn share a sympathetic look.

"Watch your language." Santana scolds putting the bat down.

"Sorry, but I wasn't expecting anyone to be hiding." She defends herself.

Santana crouches in front of Sofia. "It's ok, it's just Chloe. You can come out."

With caution, Sofia emerges from her hiding spot as Chloe looks on confused. "What did you tell her?"

Santana holds up her finger. "You can eat now. It's ok, you're not in trouble." Sofia slowly nods then retrieves her Pop Tarts before siting at the table to eat. "I just told her who you were and that she can come out." Santana shrugs.

"She speaks Spanish?" Chloe asks, a little jealous.

Santana nods. "Why are you here so early? I figured we'd have to drag you home."

"Sarah has plans with her boyfriend so Annie, Mia, and I decided to just go home. She can be kind of annoying whenever she has a date with Brayden."

Santana snorts. "Now you know how we felt whenever you talked about that one kid you had a crush on. What was his name, babe?"

Quinn chuckles as she starts breakfast. "Which one?" She teases.

Chloe narrows her eyes. "Not funny."

"Did you at least eat while you were over there?" Quinn asks.

"We had some cereal."

Santana rolls her eyes. "That's not breakfast." Being raised in a Hispanic home, the Latina grew up to a feast for every meal.

Chloe points to Sofia. "And Pop Tarts is?"

"That is different. She's still getting comfortable with us." She says lowly.

"Whatever, I'm going upstairs. I told Sarah I would call her when I got home."

Santana sighs deeply then turns to Sofia. "Finished?" She nods. "Want some milk?"

"Si." Sofia whispers.

Santana pours her glass then chuckles as Sofia gulps it all down. Sofia then climbs down from the chair and goes upstairs to her bedroom to be alone. However, as she passes Chloe's room she stops outside her door overhearing the teen's phone conversation.

"No, they don't suspect anything now that Sofia is here." A pause. "Yea, I know I owe you. You told me enough already." A longer pause. "Because he wanted me to leave or I would of stayed. Apparently he has football practice in an hour."

Hearing the boring conversation of a teenager, Sofia decides to go to her bedroom. The eight-year-old opens her closet then goes into the back, behind the rack of clothes to hide a few pieces of her Pop Tarts no one noticed she took.

Once they're hidden, Sofia goes into the bathroom to look for something in the cabinet. However, not finding it she searches else where. In the hall way, she spots a closet and searches there. Inside, there are sheets, and pillow cases on the bottom shelves. While on the very top, where she can't reach, there's some cleaning products.

Sofia knows what she's looking for won't be on the shelves. But below them she finds exactly what she needs and takes it into the closet with the Pop Tarts. Then turning to all of her toys, Sofia decides to play with the doll she threw the day before.

Downstairs, Santana and Quinn are still eating breakfast and drinking coffee.

"Why do you think Chloe went to Sarah's yesterday?" Santana asks. "We both know it wasn't for Sofia's benefit."

"I've been trying to think of a reason and I just don't know. She's been acting different over the last few weeks. I don't know what's going on with her."

"Well, I think it's either a new friend or a boy. And for her sake, it better be the latter."

"Oh come on, don't you remember what it was like to be at that age? You used to sneak out with Dani all the time."

"That's different. Dani couldn't get me pregnant." She points out. "And if it were a friend being a bad influence, I could handle that. Eventually she would see getting in trouble so much isn't worth it. But a boy who's a bad influence, is trouble. She'll think she's in love and just become more rebellious."

Santana and Quinn finish eating then wash the dishes together.

"Whatever is going on with Chloe, we'll deal with it when we cross that bridge. For now we have a little girl who's obviously scared and has definitely been through some stuff."

Santana nods. "That reminds me, something happened yesterday when Sofia took a shower."

Quinn frowns. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I meant to, I got sidetracked by my gorgeous wife's lips." Quinn blushes. "Anyway, I was getting the water warm and Sofia just zoned out. I called her name but she didn't answer. When I put my hand on her shoulder, she flinched and shouted at me."

"What did she say?" Quinn's frown deepens.

"It was so weird, it was like she had a flashback or something cause she said don't make me." Quinn shakes her head. "That asshole boyfriend had to of done something to her in the tub for her to react that way." Santana clenches her fist, not going unnoticed by her wife. Quinn takes her hand and kisses the back of if.

"I know it's hard, babe, but we have to be strong for her."

Santana nods. "I just wanna kick this guys ass."

Quinn flashes a weak smile. "I wish you could." The blonde pecks Santana's lips then looks at the time. "I gotta get ready for work. You gonna be ok?"

"Yea. Maybe I'll call Brittany, see if she wants to come over."

"K." Quinn pecks Santana's lips one more time before going upstairs.

After getting ready for work, Quinn says goodbye to her family, even Sofia, despite not getting a response. Santana then showers and gets dressed. While the girls keep busy in their rooms, the Latina cleans for a while before calling Brittany. As expected, the dancer happily accepts the invitation, wanting to meet Sofia. It doesn't take long for Brittany to arrive, only living a couple blocks away.

"So, where is she?" Brittany asks as she lets herself in.

"In her room." The dancer steps forward to go up the second floor but Santana stops her. "I'll call her down. She's shy and scared, and I want her room to be her safe place."

Brittany frowns. "She's worse than Chloe was."

"Chloe was just a baby. She was shy but warmed up to everyone pretty fast. This is different. Sofia is older and her mother's boyfriend hurt her." She explains.

"That's terrible. How can anyone hurt a child?" Santana shrugs. "I'll be in the living room. If she doesn't come down, don't force her."

Santana flashes a grateful smile. "I won't. I'll let Chloe know you're here too, I'm sure she'd love to see you."

"Of course she would. I'm her favorite Aunt."

Santana just snorts then goes upstairs. Outside Sofia's room, she can hear the little girl quietly playing with her toys. It makes Santana smile, knowing Sofia is slowly getting comfortable and being a normal child again.

Not wanting to eavesdrop anymore, Santana lightly knocks on the door, so she doesn't scare Sofia. She pokes her head in the room with a friendly smile.

"I'm glad you like your toys." Sofia blushes. "A friend of ours is downstairs and she really wants to meet you. But if you're not feeling up to it, you don't have to, ok?"

"Si." Sofia quietly says.

"Ok." Santana winks before closing the door. Outside of Chloe's room, she can hear the teen on the phone and almost waits to eavesdrop but decides against it and knocks instead.

"Yea?" Chloe asks.

Santana opens the door. "Aunt Brittany is downstairs if you wanna see her."

Chloe smiles brightly. "Cool. I'll be down in a minute."

Normally Chloe would run downstairs right away to see Brittany. Now that she isn't, the brunette suspects even more her daughter is pinning after some boy.

"Ok."

Santana returns back downstairs as she mumbles and swears in Spanish. Brittany chuckles and shakes her head at her old friend.

"What has you cursing in Spanish?"

Santana sits next to the dancer with a huff. "I think Chloe has a crush on a boy." She grumbles.

"Awe, your baby is growing up." Brittany teases.

Santana rolls her eyes. "It's not just that." She insists. "Whoever it is, he's changing her. She's become so defiant lately, and lying. She said she slept over Sarah's house so Sofia wouldn't feel overwhelmed but she came home this morning. Usually we have to drag her home. And now she's still on the phone even though you're here. She'll usually run right down whenever you visit."

Brittany shrugs. "Don't worry. She'll think he's the best guy ever now but once he fucks up, she'll come running to you and Quinn. It won't last forever." She assures her.

Santana sighs deeply. "I just wish it was sooner rather than later."

Brittany tries to comfort Santana some more when Chloe walks in.

"Hey Aunt Brittany." She smiles brightly with her arms open.

"Hi, sweetie. How are you?" Brittany hugs the teen.

"Good. I'm not looking forward to school starting though." Brittany and Chloe sit on the couch with Santana.

"I remember those days." Brittany reminisces. "I wish all I had to worry about was school starting and getting new clothes."

Chloe grumbles. "Don't make me feel bad for being a teenager." Brittany and Santana just laugh when the phone rings.

"That's probably Quinn." Santana says standing up. "I hope she's calling to tell me she sold that house." Brittany and Chloe continue to laugh watching Santana go into the kitchen to answer the phone.

"She's never going to sell that house." Says Brittany.

Santana glares at the blonde from the doorway. "It's nice to know you have faith in my wife and your best friend." Brittany just rolls her eyes at the Latina's dramatics, albeit with a smile.

"Aunt Britt, can I talk to you about something?"

Brittany nods, having a hunch she knows what the teen will ask. "Of course." Chloe hesitates, nervous about what she wants to ask. "Is it a boy?"

Chloe blushes. "Yea. His name is Jake. He's really cute and really nice, and he always makes me laugh but."

"But?" Brittany arches her brow.

"He's a senior. Mami definitely won't let me date him knowing he's older than me. But I really like him. And I was hoping you can convince her to let me go on at least one date with him and she could even meet him."

Unbeknownst to them, Sofia is siting at the bottom of the steps. Now dressed in one of her new outfits. She had been curious about their guest ever since she arrived but hadn't had the courage to check her out.

"Why are you asking me instead of Quinn?"

Chloe rolls her eyes. "She won't like that he's older than me either. Even if she didn't. she always takes Mami's side."

Brittany sighs deeply. "I can't make any promises but I'll try."

Chloe smiles brightly and hugs the dancer. "Thank you. You're so awesome."

Santana sudden walks in, brow arched but doesn't pry. "That was your Mother. She finally sold the house!" She smiles brightly then holds out her hand. "Cough it up, pay the piper."

Chloe rolls her eyes. "My money is upstairs." Santana raises her brows. "You want me to get it now?"

"Well, yea. You lost the bet, pay up, mija."

Brittany laughs while Chloe goes to upstairs. As she does, Sofia runs back to her bedroom before she's seen. Or so she thought. The teen fetches her money then lightly knocks on Sofia's door.

"Hey, I saw you run to your room. Why don't you come down? Aunt Brittany is really nice and fun. She's like a giant kid." She says with a laugh then sighs deeply not getting a reaction. "Look, I don't know what happened in your other home but, no one is going to hurt you here."

With that, Chloe returns downstairs. Now Sofia is having a internal debate with herself. Although she found the courage to go down earlier, she's not sure she's ready to meet yet another new person. Ever since she was taken from her home there's been a lot of changes and a lot of new faces, and none are the person she wants to see, her Mami.

Sofia misses her very much. Adults have explained why she hasn't seen her Mother, and although she understands, she still misses her. Even despite knowing her Mother let Marcos hurt her all the time. She's still her Mother and she wants to trust her again.

Santana reminds Sofia a lot of her Mami. Not only her looks but personality as well. It surprised the brunette. The pretty Latina had been very nice but she's also headstrong like her Mami used to be before she met Marcos.

Santana has made Sofia feel a little more comfortable in the new home but now that this new person has arrived, she feels herself revert back into her shell. Nonetheless, Sofia finds herself slowly making her way downstairs, out of curiosity, due to what Chloe had said. At the bottom of the steps, she realizes everyone has moved on to another room.

She cautiously goes down the hall and finds Santana alone making lunch and humming to herself. Looking out the back sliding doors, she spots Brittany and Chloe practicing what looks to be a cheer dance. Focusing back to Santana, Sofia realizes the woman is now quietly singing a traditional Spanish lullaby her Mami used to sing to her.

It makes Sofia smile, remembering a time before Marcos. Her Mami wasn't always happy being alone but at least she still had time to play with her daughter, and sing her to sleep before bed, or when she was sick. The Spanish lullaby was her favorite, even though her Mami couldn't really sing. But Santana can. Her voice reminds Sofia of a Disney princess.

As Sofia continues to watch Santana from the doorway, the woman turns to the small island in the middle of the kitchen to peel and cut potatoes to make homemade french fries. Sofia tries hiding behind the wall but Santana still spots her.

"It's ok, sweetie. You wanna help me make lunch? I used to help my Mami all the time. She would let me peel potatoes, cut vegetables, or mix something. And we would sing my favorite Spanish lullaby."

Sofia pokes her head inside the room and flashes a shy smile. "I love that song." She whispers. "Mami sang it to me. But you sing better. Like a princess."

Santana blushes. "Gracias." She winks.

Sofia glances at the sliding doors then shyly joins Santana. "Can I help?"

"Of course. You can be my sous chef." Santana grabs a chair so Sofia can reach the counter then hands her the potato peeler. "Just be careful."

Sofia nods then starts peeling. "What's a sous chef?"

Santana smiles, feeling overjoyed the little Latina is finally opening up a little. "It's an assistant chef to the executive chef."

"Does executive mean boss?"

Santana chuckles. "Kind of."

The girls continue to prepare lunch in a comfortable silence. By the time Santana puts everything on the stove, Brittany and Chloe return inside. Sofia sticks by Santana's side, feeling more comfortable with the Latina.

"When will lunch be done? I'm already starving." Says Chloe.

"Half hour." Chloe sighs in disappointment. "Don't be so dramatic. By the time you're out of the shower and dressed, it should be done."

"Are you saying I take long showers?" Chloe narrows her eyes.

"Yup. Don't use all of the hot water." Brittany laughs as Chloe stomps upstairs. Santana then turns to Sofia. "Sofia, this is our friend Brittany. You don't have to be shy around her." She assures the child.

"Hi." Sofia whispers.

"Hey, cutie." Brittany greets back with a friendly smile. "You know, if I didn't know you weren't related, I would think you were Santana's daughter." Santana chuckles. "I'm serious, she looks so much like you. Quinn has her mini me and now you have yours."

"Have your what?" Quinn asks walking in the room. She then goes over to her wife to greet her with a kiss.

"Hi, mi amor. What are you doing home early?"

"I sold the house on Maple, remember? A few co-workers took me out to eat then my boss called and said I deserve to go home early." She explains.

"Wow, they must have really wanted to sell that house." Says Brittany.

"That would be an understatement." Quinn says, making Brittany laugh.

"We should celebrate, babe." Santana suggests as she checks on the food. "We can take the girls to the movie theater or something. Or we can call a sitter and you and I can celebrate."

"That's actually a good idea. We can take the girls to see the new Beauty and the Beast. I'll check the times." Quinn takes out her phone then realizes someone is missing. "Where's Chloe?"

"In the shower." Santana says.

"Mind if I tag along?" Brittany asks. "I love that movie."

"Have you seen it already?" Santana asks.

Brittany shrugs. "Yeah, so?" Santana just snorts then winks at Sofia seeing the little girl staring at her, making Sofia blush.

"We can make the eight pm showing. I'm gonna jump in the shower myself." Quinn sets her phone down then goes upstairs.

---

7:30pm

They all pack into Santana's black Chevy Equinox. Arriving at the movie theater, both Santana and Quinn let out a loud sigh seeing a lot of people had the same idea.

"Do you still wanna see this movie?" Santana asks Quinn.

"Yea, and we're already here. We may as well."

Santana sighs deeply again. "Ok. Then how about I look for a place to park and you guys can get us a spot in line." She says pulling up to the front of the theater.

"What if you're not back by the time we get the tickets?" Quinn asks.

Santana shrugs. "It looks like there's a line inside, too. I'll find you."

"Alright." Quinn leans over to peck Santana's lips before getting out of the car, following Brittany and Chloe. However, Sofia stays in the vehicle. "What's wrong, sweetie? Do you wanna stay with Santana?" Sofia nods. "Ok, we'll meet you guys inside."

Quinn closes the back door then goes inside with Brittany and Chloe. As soon as they step inside, they're met with a long line of people waiting to get their tickets.

"Ugh, this is gonna take forever." Chloe groans.

"I'll go see why the line is so long." Brittany offers. The tall blonde heads to the front of the line to discover only two people are working the registers. Brittany shakes her head then returns to Quinn and Chloe. "They only have two people working the registers."

"What?" Brittany just shrugs. "This is ridiculous. Are any of the machines open?" She asks scanning the area, only to discover they too have a line. "I'm starting to think this was a bad idea."

Quinn looks out the glass doors to check if she can see Santana, however, it's getting too dark to see anything.

"Are we gonna miss the movie?" Chloe asks no one in particular.

"If we do, we'll just go home and come another time. I'm not waiting in lines all night." Says Quinn when a group a teens get in line behind them. Chloe recognizes them and curses under her breath, not going unnoticed by Brittany.

"Is that Jake?" She asks quietly so Quinn doesn't hear.

Chloe nods. "And his friends, Ryder, Marley, Spencer and Kitty." Chloe attempts to act cavalier that Jake is right behind her, but inside she's freaking out.

"Yo, Jake, look at all the creeps without kids trying to get into Beauty and the Beast." He laughs. Jake and their friends laugh along then out of no where Spencer pushes Jake into Chloe.

"Shit, sorry. My friend is kind of an ass."

"It's ok." Chloe waves him off, blushing.

"Who are you here with?"

"My parents, Aunt Brittany, and my little foster sister Sofia."

Jake looks surprised. "Your Moms' are fostering?"

"Yea. Why are you so surprised? I mean, obviously they adopted me." She points out.

Jake snorts, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, right. Sorry, I'm an idiot."

Chloe chuckles, feeling less nervous. "It's ok."

Jake was so busy talking to Chloe, he didn't notice his friends weave through the crowd to the second set of doors leading to the lobby.

"Come on, Jake." Says Spencer, holding the door open now. "Weston texted me, he's hooking us up with some tickets."

"Ok, hold on." Jake turns back to Chloe. "What movie are you seeing?"

"Beauty and the Beast."

Jake laughs. "Oh man, those guys are really gonna hate me for this but, I'll see you in there." He winks. And with that, Jake joins his friends when Santana finally walks in holding Sofia.

"Mi amor, I'm starting to think this isn't worth it. I just had to park the car across the street."

Quinn sighs deeply. "Yeah, I already told Chloe if we miss the time, then we're just going home." The blonde agrees then realizes Sofia is clinging on to her wife like a koala bear. "Is she ok?"

Santana nods. "As long as I don't put her down, she should be fine."

"Maybe we should go another day." Brittany suggests. "It might be too much for her."

"I don't wanna go another day." Chloe says surprising her parents. "Look, the line is moving faster now." She points out as the people in front of them move ahead further in line. "Maybe they opened more registers."

Santana narrows her eyes. "Why do you wanna see this movie so bad?"

"It was my favorite when I was little and, hello, Emma Watson." She lies.

"I thought Snow White was your favorite?" Brittany asks, momentarily forgetting about the boy Chloe wants to see. The teen scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Oh, right. Nevermind, you're right, it was Beauty and the Beast."

"No, it was definitely Snow White." Says Santana. "We had to watch it fifty times a day."

Chloe scoffs. "Whatever, I still wanna see this movie tonight."

Before Santana could ask anymore questions, the line continues to move. They can just see the registers when a man with dark hair and light eyes tries going through the line to leave.

"Excuse me, sorry." He says bumping into the people in front of them when he recognizes Santana. "Oh hey, Santana. I thought that was you."

"Hey, Brody. How are you?" She asks standing closer to Quinn.

"Pretty good. Just getting ready for the new school year. Hello, Quinn, how are you?"

"Fine, thanks." She forces a tight lipped smile. Brittany watches the exchange with curiosity and amusement.

"Who's this little one?" He asks referring to Sofia. The little girl hides her face in Santana's neck.

"This is Sofia. We're in the process of adopting her." Santana says rubbing Sofia's back.

Brody smirks, looking up and down at Santana with hungry eyes. Quinn glares at the man while Santana holds her wife's hand and squeezes it.

"That's really cool. It's a shame you're taken. It gives guys like me a hard time finding women like you." He flirts.

"You wouldn't stand a chance if she wasn't married." Quinn says, getting more angry. "She's a lady lover, and you're no woman." She says with an edge in her tone.

Brody glares at Quinn then turns to Santana. "What movie are you seeing? I can hook you up with some tickets. That way you won't have to wait in line." He offers.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Santana politely declines. "The line is moving now so we should be able to make it on time."

Brody shrugs. "If you insist. I'll see you Monday." He winks. And before Quinn or Santana could say anything, he's out the door.

"I really hate that guy." Quinn grumbles.

"Who was that, and why haven't I met him before?" Brittany asks as the line continues to move.

"He works with Santana at the High School." Quinn answers for them. "He started working there late in the school year last year, and he's always flirting with my wife."

"What an as-jerk." Brittany corrects herself, remembering Sofia is with them. "The good looking ones usually are, though."

"He knows I'm married. But I told Quinn if he tries anything more than flirting, she has permission to slap him."

Brittany laughs. "Quinn always was the genius slapper."

Santana laughs along then kisses her wife's cheek. The line then moves faster and before they know it, they're sitting in a dark, crowded movie theater with drinks and popcorn. Santana and Quinn are sitting together. Sofia sits on Santana's lap, and Chloe is sitting next to Brittany, however, the teen is scanning the room for Jake and his friends when she feels popcorn hit the side of her face.

Chloe turns to the direction the popcorn came from to see Jake a few seats down the same row. Jake waves, causing Chloe to blush. The teen waves back, thankful it's too dark to see her red cheeks. Looking closer, she realizes he's trying to tell her something. However, because it's so loud, he points to an open seat next to him then waves her over. Chloe nods then turns to her parents.

"Mom, can I sit with my friends? They're just over there." She points down the row.

"Those friends better not be boys." Santana speaks up before Quinn gets the chance.

"A couple of them are but I wanna sit with Marley and Kitty."

Santana looks down the row then shrugs. "It's ok with me."

"Go ahead, honey. Just meet us in the lobby when the movie is over."

---

10:00pm

Sofia didn't last the entire movie, but she watches more than Santana and Quinn thought she would. Once the movie was over and Santana and Quinn waited for Chloe in the lobby, there was slight drama when Santana thought Jake and Chloe stayed back to make out. Now they're dragging themselves into the house, tired and exhausted.

Brittany says goodbye to the small family before driving home. And Santana carries Sofia upstairs to her bedroom with Quinn following.

"I'm telling you, Q. I saw the way he was looking at my baby. If they weren't kissing during the movie, he definitely wanted to." Santana carefully lays Sofia in bed while Quinn grabs some pajamas then hands them to her wife.

"I know you don't like the idea of Chloe dating, but it's inevitable, babe. She's not a kid anymore."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it." Santana slowly takes Sofia's shirt off then as she goes to put on the pajama shirt, something on Sofia's stomach catches Santana's eye, causing her to pause.

"What's wrong?" Quinn asks.

Santana groans. "There's scars on her stomach. It looks like someone burned the words "bad girl" with a cigarette into her skin." As Quinn inspects the scars herself, Santana silently counts to ten.

"We knew this was going to be hard." Quinn rubs Santana's back.

"I know." The Latina sighs before putting the pajama shirt on followed by the pants before standing in front of her wife. "That doesn't mean I have to like it." She repeats.

Quinn flashes a sympathetic smile then connects their lips in a loving kiss. "Lets go to bed. I'm tired and I know you're tired."

The couple exit the room together then Quinn closes the door but leaves it slightly ajar to let in some light from the hall nightlight.

---

10:30am

Santana is the first one to wake up. The brunette carefully gets out of bed so she doesn't wake up her wife then rushes to the bathroom to empty her bladder and to brush her teeth. On her way downstairs, she checks on Sofia only to find the bed empty.

For a moment Santana thinks Sofia could be in the bathroom, but realized the door is open. Then thinks she may be downstairs already until she takes a closer look at the bed and sees a small foot poking out from the bottom.

Santana crouches down to discover Sofia had must of woken up in the middle of the night and slept underneath the bed instead. The Latina crawls over to the bed then reaches over to rub Sofia's back until she wakes up.

"Hey, beautiful. What are you doing under here?" Sofia pouts, avoiding Santana's gaze. "It's ok, you're not in trouble. I just wanna know why you wanted to sleep under your bed instead of in it. Do we need to get you a new mattress, is it uncomfortable?"

Sofia shakes her head. "I wet the bed." She whispers in Spanish, unsure of how Santana will react.

Santana flashes a sympathetic smile. "That's ok. It was just an accident, huh?" Sofia slowly nods. "I'm going to put your sheets and comforter in the washer, and you can come out and help me, if you want." Sofia remains silent so Santana gets up from the floor then starts stripping the bed.

Once the sheets and comforter are removed, Santana takes them downstairs to the laundry room when she realizes Sofia had followed her. Santana puts everything into the washer then adds the soap before turning to Sofia.

"Where did you put the pajama's you wore last night?"

"In my closet."

"Can you get them for me, por favor? I need to wash them." Sofia nods then quickly retrieves the pajama's. "Gracias." Sofia watches Santana put the soiled pajamas in the washer before turning the machine on. "Are you hungry? Quinn and Chloe should be waking up soon. We can make everyone some eggs and bacon."

"Ok."

Sofia follows Santana into the kitchen and the older Latina drags a chair in front of the counter for Sofia. As they prepare and cook breakfast, the pair sing their favorite Spanish lullaby together. When Quinn does wake up and finally joins them in the kitchen, she can't help but smile at the sight. Seeing her wife with Sofia makes Quinn happy they decided to go through with the adoption process.

"How long have you two been up?" She asks, finally making her presence known.

"Not long." Santana answers for them. "Is Chloe up?"

Quinn snorts as she starts making coffee. "Of course not. School starts tomorrow, she's going to get as much sleep as she can before then."

"That reminds me. We may have to register Sofia into McKinley Elementary since she was probably going to Lima Heights."

"We should do that today, then. Before the cookout." Quinn sits at the island and flashes a friendly smile toward Sofia, earning a shy smile in return.

After breakfast, the trio get ready for the day then Santana leaves Chloe a note, letting her know they're going to register Sofia to McKinley. The Latina also gives the teen permission to walk to Brittany's house if she gets bored, or they take too long, so long as she remembers to lock all the doors and not to forget her house key.

"Did you leave Chloe a note?" Quinn asks from the drivers side of her black Chevy Malibu while Santana catches up to them, then notices Sofia frowning at her booster seat as she struggles to buckle it. Santana nods while helping Sofia.

"Yeah. I told her she could go to Britt's if she wants to, too. I don't know how long we'll be." Santana gets into the passenger seat and buckles her seat belt before Quinn pulls out of the driveway.

"We're only going to the school. It shouldn't take us that long."

"I know but I want to buy a few last minute things for the cook out."

"Ok. Where are we going?"

"We just need some more pool toys after the other ones we bought were destroyed by that damn dog." Santana grumbles like a child.

Quinn chuckles gently squeezing her wife's knee. "I think you loved those stupid pizza loungers more than the kids did."

"I love pizza, and they were good to tan on."

Quinn just shakes her head, albeit with a smile. By the time the trio arrive at McKinley Elementary, there's already some employees rushing to get the school year ready. Going to the office, Sofia sticks by Santana, silently observing everything with caution.

"Hi, I'm Quinn Fabray-Lopez, and this is my wife Santana." Quinn says with a friendly smile. "We're here to register our foster daughter, Sofia Alveraz."

The woman with silver hair behind the counter smiles in return. "Yes, we were expecting you. Lisa called." She answers their unasked question. "Come with me. I'll show you to the principle's office."

Sofia unconsciously holds Santana's hand as they follow the woman to the office. Another woman, younger than the receptionist, but older than Santana and Quinn. She's been principle for years and has always reminded Santana of Olivia Benson from her favorite crime show drama.

"Mrs. Jennings, Mrs. And Mrs. Fabray-Lopez are here." The new receptionist announces.

Mrs. Jennings smiles up at the married couple. "It's good to see you again. Come, make yourself comfortable." She gestures toward the couch off to the side of her desk.

"Finally got a couch?" Santana asks settling Sofia on her lap for comfort.

Mrs. Jennings can't help but laugh as she walls around her desk then drags one of the chairs to sit in front of the trio, with a stack of papers. "Lets just say you weren't the only one complaining how uncomfortable the chairs are." Santana smiles as an i-told-you-so. The principle just continues to smile. "I'll admit I'm surprised you're adopting again."

"She's not nearly as bad as Chloe, trust me." Santana jokes.

The principle flashes a friendly smile toward Sofia but continues talking to Santana and Quinn instead, seeing she's shy. "How did you manage to find a mini Santana?" Santana blushes.

"We just got lucky." Quinn winks at her wife.

"Well, you remember all the paperwork. I already have Sofia's physical from Lisa, so don't worry about that." The principle says sliding the pile of papers over to them on the coffee table between them. The women make small talk while Sofia waits patiently, and even gets a pop as a reward from the principle before they go.

Santana and Quinn praise the little girl for her patience, too, as they return to Quinn's car, to encourage Sofia to come out of her shell more. At the pool store, there's a summer end sale so Santana takes full advantage buying any inflatable lounger and toy available.

"Do we really need this many, San?" Quinn asks struggling to get the bags into the trunk. Santana comes from behind Quinn with a couple of bags in her free hand, then drops Sofia's hand before helping Quinn shove all the bags inside the trunk.

"See? We got them all to fit." Santana gloats.

"Barely." Quinn grumbles. "Can you call Chloe? I already tried in the store but she wouldn't answer." Quinn climbs into the drivers side while Santana helps Sofia with her belt again, then joins her wife in the front with a groan.

"I'm sick of her with this phone business. She's texting on it all the time but can't answer when we call. If she keeps this up, I'm giving her my old flip phone I had in high school."

Quinn snorts. "You still have that?"

Santana blushes waiting for Chloe to answer. "Maybe."

The realtor laughs finally pulling out of the crowded parking lot. "What other stuff have you saved?"

Santana shrugs shyly. "The notes you and I would give each other during math, the notes we passed to Brittany, a few movie stubs from our first date, stuff like that. It's in my safe I keep on my side of our closet." She explains.

Quinn kisses the back of Santana's free hand. "I told you, you have a big heart."

Santana continues to blush then recovers as Chloe finally answers her phone. "Where are you?" There is a short pause. "Ok, we're on our way home. We should be there soon, and you better be showered and dressed. As soon as we get there, you're helping us get everything ready for this cook out." Another pause. "Te amo. Bye."

"She's home?" Santana nods slowly as she seems to be thinking about something. "What?"

"I thought I heard someone else's voice whispering." Quinn sighs deeply, knowing what Santana is implying. "If it's a boy-"

"Lets not jump to conclusions, ok?" Quinn cuts her off.

"Fine." Santana reluctantly agrees.

At the house, the couple once again struggle with all the pool stuff Santana insisted they needed. Chloe seems to be innocently watching tv in the living room dressed and alone.

"What is all that?" Chloe asks while Santana and Quinn put all the boxes on the love seat.

"Your Mami insisted we need five thousand pool loungers and toys." Quinn grumbles rubbing her sore arm and hand muscles.

"Then I guess I'll be the one pumping them with air." Says Santana.

Quinn nods. "You wanted them, you pump them with air. I'm gonna get the food ready. Chlo, wanna help me?"

"Yeah." Chloe follows Quinn into the kitchen then Santana turns to Sofia.

"Wanna help me?" Sofia nods. "Ok, just carry one out at a time. These are heavy."

Sofia does her best as she follows Santana to the back patio. The small, unique family set everything up for the party together then watch tv until their guests start arriving. Chloe and her friends are first to jump in the pool while Santana and Quinn mingle with their High School friends on the patio.

Two of their friends, Puck and Sam, have volunteered to grill the meat, giving Santana and Quinn the freedom to relax and watch the girls. Even though Sofia hasn't left Santana's side.

"I know it's only been a few days but how is she adjusting?" Rachel asks.

Quinn shrugs. "Still shy." She gestures to Sofia now sitting in her wife's lap.

"Yeah, she's been pretty attached to me." Santana agrees. "We bonded over food and singing. She's my sous chef."

Knowing they're not done talking about the child, Puck attempts to be nice, and get Sofia distracted so she doesn't feel embarrassed being talked about.

"Hey, Sofia, I could really use some help over here. Sam is useless." He jokes.

"Useless?" Sam asks with a laugh, knowing what his friend is doing. "Alright, I see how it is. You think I'm useless, then Sofia can take over." Sam says before sitting next to his wife Mercedes.

"It's ok, sweetie, go ahead. I'll be right here, I'm not going anywhere." Santana assures her.

Slowly, Sofia slides off Santana's lap while keeping her eyes on Puck. Once she's standing next to him, the man hands her a large serving plate.

"I just need you to hold this for me while I put the burgers on it, ok? Easy enough, right?"

Sofia just nods silently then watches Puck stack the hamburgers on the plate. While he does, Sofia can now really smell the seasoned, cooked meat. It's a moment everyone has often.

A certain sight, smell, or even touch, will take them back to their childhood, or for Sofia, a dark time period in her life. Being raised in an abusive home, those moments happen more often for Sofia. And this time is no different. The little girl is taken back to the old and small house in Lima Heights.

On one particular hot day, Gabriella, Sofia's Mother, thought it would be a good idea to cook dinner outside on the grill. With Marcos' help, of course. Sofia also helped, carrying the paper plates while Gabriella carries the hamburgers. However, Gabriella's plan quickly falls apart. Marcos can't light the old girl the Latina's Father got her years ago.

"It's too damn old, this thing will never light again." Marcos grumbles as the phone inside the house rings.

"Just keep trying. I'll be back."

While Gabriella answers the phone, Sofia stays put at the patio table and continues watching Marcos struggle to light the grill. The man curses under his breath, not caring Sofia can hear him. He almost gives up when the grill finally lights as Gabriella returns. Marcos smirks in victory toward the Latina.

"Got it."

Gabriella flashes a weak smile. "That's great."

Sending her tone, Marcos frowns. "What's wrong?" He has a hunch, since Gabriella has been working more often ever since he was laid off.

"My boss. He's short staffed. A couple of new kids didn't show." She explains.

Marcos groans. "You're going in for overtime."

"I have to. I need the money. Especially if we want a new grill." Marcos remains silent as Gabriella kisses his cheek. Then Gabriella says goodbye to Sofia, promising she would make it up to her before leaving.

Marcos glares at Gabriella's back then turns to Sofia. "Grab me the burgers." Sofia struggles a little but manages to give Marcos the meat. He puts them on the table he set up next to the grill.

"Can I help?"

Marcos shrugs. "Sure." He lets Sofia put the burger on the grill since its short enough for her to reach. "I like mine raw. So in a couple seconds, you'll have to flip it." He instructs, then wait a few seconds for some of the meat to cook. "Ok, now." Sofia attempts to flip the burger, however, the patty is too big and heavy for her and it falls apart then falls below the rack. "Damn it, watch what you're doing!"

"Lo siento." Sofia frowns.

Marcos groans. "I'm sick of this shit. Your Mother constantly leaves me to take of your ungrateful, selfish ass, treating me like a built-in babysitter, all for some minimum wage job." Marcos groans once again as his anger builds up even more. "You need to be disciplined more, that's the problem. Just because you're little, your Mother lets you get away with too much." He thinks out loud.

Without warning, Marcos roughly grabs on to Sofia's arm then puts her little hand on to the burning hot grill rack, making Sofia scream in agony. Although it felt like forever for Sofia, it was just a few seconds that he pressed her hand into the hot metal.

"Sofia." Puck repeats himself for the third time as Sofia returns to reality. The little Latina looks to the other adults to see they're watching on with concern. "You ok, sweetie?" Puck asks, but Sofia remains silent.

He glances in Santana and Quinn's direction but only gets a shrug in return before they resume their discussion, but also keeping an eye out for Sofia. Puck turns back to the little Latina and takes the now full plate of burgers from her. As he does, he notices some grease has dripped from the plate on to her wrist. So Puck grabs a napkin near by and gently holds her wrist, causing Sofia to shout at the top of her lungs and pull her hand away.

Puck puts his hands up in surrender facing Santana and Quinn. "I was just trying to clean the grease off her."

Before they can comfort her, Sofia runs off.

"What was that about?" Mercedes asks.

"I'll go check on her." Santana volunteers, leaving her wife to explain what's going on.

"Is she going to be ok?" Tina, another high school friend, asks.

"Yeah, Santana will get her to calm down." Quinn waves her off. "We haven't been able to tell you guys how different this adoption is."

"Different, how?" Rachel asks with concern.

Quinn sighs preparing for the response. "Lisa told us they suspect, no, they know, she was abused by her Mother's boyfriend." She explains, getting a collection of gasps in return. "She's in jail now, and Lisa asked us to foster her until the adoption papers go through."

"So, what just happened right now," Mercedes says, "she had a flashback?"

Quinn nods. "I guess you can call it that. She's had quite a few of them since she's been here."

"That's terrible." Rachel says. "A child feel nothing but unconditional love." The group pf friends nod in agreement.

"Chloe, girls, the burgers are ready." Quinn shouts to the teens. Chloe walks over to the table wrapped in a towel, shivering slightly from the light breeze touching her wet skin.

"Where's Mami?"

"She went to get Sofia, she should be back soon." Quinn explains. Chloe just nods then joins her friends. Slightly concerned for her foster sister.

---

Santana checked the laundry room first but was surprised to discover the little girl wasn't there. So the next logical place to look is Sofia's bedroom. Santana looks just about every spot available to hide when she finally finds the girl under her bed and rolls her eyes at herself for not looking there first.

"Hey, beautiful. What are you doing under here?" She asks laying on her stomach.

"I got scared." Sofia whispers in Spanish. "He grabbed my arm like Mami's boyfriend did when he hurt me."

Santana flashes a sympathetic smile. "I know, but no one here is going to hurt you. No one will ever hurt you like that again, I promise." Sofia doesn't seem too convinced, but Santana silently promises she'll prove it to her. Even despite knowing they might not be able to adopt her. "Why don't you come back down with us. There's a burger with our names on them." She winks, attempting to cheer Sofia up and lighten the mood.

Hesitantly, Sofia joins Santana, going back downstairs and outside with the rest of the group to eat. Once everyone has eaten, the teens change into clothes. At the end of the day, Chloe asks if they can make smores by the fire pit.

"As long as you and your friends clean everything up." Santana says.

"We will." Chloe says rushing into the house to get everything. The adults gather chairs around the fire pit for everyone when Chloe and her friends return.

"Sofia, have you ever had smores before?" Tina asks. Sofia just silently shakes her head.

"I can show you." Quinn offers, wanting to get Sofia to feel more comfortable with her.

Sofia watches intently as Quinn shows and explains to the little girl how to not only assemble a smore, but to roast a marshmallow as well. After trying the sticky junk food for the first time, Sofia asks Quinn to make her more, and even falls asleep in the blonde's lap, after coming down from her sugar high. By the time everyone has had enough, and it's time for Chloe's friends to go home for school the next morning, the girls have left a mess.

"Didn't I say Chloe and her friends had to clean this up?" Santana grumbles as she and Quinn clean everything up while the girls get ready for bed.

"Their parents got here before they could, and I don't want Chloe cleaning all of this by herself."

"Ugh, fine."

Once they finally finish cleaning everything up, the couple return inside to get ready for bed themselves then they say goodnight to each of the girls before trying to get some sleep. However, it seems Santana has plans of her own as Quinn attempts to sleep, Santana trails chaste kisses to her neck.

"Baby, I don't think I'm awake enough." Quinn says as Santana's hands wander to her chest, and plays with her nipples.

"Hm, mi amor, school is starting tomorrow. Who knows when I'll have the energy to make love to my wife, or just have rough, amazing sex." Quinn snorts. "I think we should take advantage of this."

Quinn laughs then finds enough energy to connect their lips in a searing kiss, and make love to her wife.

The following morning, Santana and Quinn are first to wake up as their alarm blares through the master bedroom. After getting dressed for work, they greet each other with a loving kiss, since their teeth are brushed, then wake up the girls for school. Now Chloe and Sofia are siting at the kitchen table eating scrambled eggs while Quinn and Santana have coffee and something quick to eat since they're running a little late.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Quinn asks Sofia. "Are you nervous?" Sofia silently nods. "It'll be ok. The first day at a new school is always nerve racking but once you make some friends, it'll get easier." She assures her. Sofia looks to Santana and the Latina winks with a friendly smile. "We should get going. We're going to be late."

Since Santana and Chloe are both going to the High School, Chloe goes with Santana, while Quinn drops Sofia off on her way to work. Rushing out the door, they miss the phone ringing.

At the Elementary, Quinn had to sign a few more papers before Sofia is escorted to her classroom. It's already full of kids and Sofia feels overwhelmed, especially as the teacher stands her in front of the class to introduce her to everyone before showing her to an empty desk next to a little blonde who looks a lot like Brittany.

"Hi, my name is Brooke. My Aunt Brittany told me you might be in my class." She says with a friendly smile.

"Hi." Sofia says above a whisper, siting at the desk next to the blonde.

"Don't be scared. A lot of kids here are nice, but if they're not, Aunt Tana will kick their butt. One time this mean kid threw a dodge ball at my head. My parents talked to the principle but he was still mean to me so Aunt Tana yelled at everyone in the office until they gave him detention. Now he's not mean to me anymore." She explains.

Throughout the morning, Sofia learns going to a new school is more difficult than she thought. Not only is it hard being the "new kid" to all of the other children, but they're learning things her old school hasn't covered yet, and it's making Sofia feel very small and stupid. It also doesn't help that she has a heavy Spanish accent.

By the time recess rolls around, Sofia just wants to go home. However, not the one with the Fabray-Lopez home, her small home with her Mami.

While the other kids play together, Sofia opts to be by herself in a tunnel. However, a group of four boys walks over to her, ending her short lived peace and quiet.

"You can't hog the tunnel all recess." One of the boys says with his arms crossed. "We like to play in there, too." His friends nod in agreement, glaring at Sofia. However, to avoid them, Sofia just crawls to the other end of the tunnel. "Hey, I said we want to play in the tunnel now. You have to leave." He continues, walking to the other side with his friends when Brooke approaches them.

"You better not be being mean to my friend, Theodore." She says his name with emphasis, knowing he hates it.

He glares at her. "My name isn't Theodore, it's Leo!"

Brooke rolls her eyes. "Whatever, leave her alone or I'll get my Aunt Tana to yell at you instead."

"She's not taking turns on the tunnel." He argues.

"You only want it cause she's in it." Brooke continues. "Go play stupid football with your stupid friends." With that, Leo and his friends turn the opposite direction to play football in the soccer field with some other boys. Brooke sits next to Sofia inside the tunnel.

"I don't like this school." Sofia suddenly says. "I miss my Mami. I wanna go home."

Brooke frowns. "But I heard Aunt Brittany talking to my parents on the phone last night. She said your Mom's boyfriend was a bad man. Why would you want to go back?"

"I just want my Mami."

"Your Mami is in jail, cause she let the bad man hurt you."

Sofia glares at her then climbs out of the tunnel. "My Mami is going to come back for me. She told me. She promised she would be back for me, and Marcos won't hurt me again, then I won't have to come here anymore." With that, Sofia runs off to another part of the playground to be by herself.

---

At the High School, Chloe is used to her Mami dropping her off now, so she's not embarrassed by it. However, she does hate it when all the boys in school check her Mami out, and glares at anyone who does.

"How does Mom not punch them?"

Santana follows her daughter's line of vision as they walk toward the school and snorts. "She would get arrested for assault since she's an adult and they're children." Chloe continues to glare at them.

"I hate boys sometimes."

"Oh yeah? I wish you'd hate them all the time."

Now Chloe directs her glare towards her Mami instead. "Not funny."

Santana shrugs as they walk into the school. "Who said I was trying to be?" She asks as Sarah, Mia and Annie approaches them.

"Hey, coach." Sarah greets. "Mind if we take Chloe?"

She shakes her head. "No, go right ahead. I have to get to my classroom and pass out schedules and locks. I'll see you later, mija. Te amo." Chloe may not be able to speak Spanish, but she does understand whenever her Mami says I love you.

"Love you, too." She says before going off with her friends.

"When are you going out with Jake again?" Mia asks as they walk slowly to their homeroom.

"I don't know. We haven't talked since I ran into him at the movie theater."

"You guys still owe us for using us as an excuse to your Moms'." Sarah reminds her, yet again. "And you better make sure your Mami never finds out."

Chloe snorts. "If you guys weren't so afraid of her, it wouldn't be a big deal."

"How are you not afraid of her?" Annie asks. "You live with her." Too distracted by their conversation, none of the girls noticed Santana has been eavesdropping after talking to the principle on her way to her classroom.

"Don't let her fool you, girls." She says, making Mia, Sarah, Annie, and even Chloe jump. "She's afraid of me." Santana winks. "Get to class, girls. Chloe, we'll talk later."

Being a Spanish teacher, Santana's classroom is on the other side of the school. So the Latina thinks about the discussion she and her wife will be having about this Jake boy with their daughter when Brody interrupts her thoughts.

"Trouble in paradise?" He asks with a smug grin.

Santana narrows her eyes. "Not that it's any of your business, but no. Why are you asking?"

Brody gestures toward his face, then points to Santana's. "You look angry."

"Oh, that would be my daughter's doing. Apparently when she said she was staying at a friends house, she was really going out with a boy."

Brody laughs. "Oh, to be a teenager again."

Santana scoffs. "I'd rather not relive that."

Brody looks surprised. "You really wouldn't relive the glory days?"

Santana stops for a moment in the middle of the hall. "I'm going to take a wild shot in the dark and assume you were the stereotypical, popular jock who got any girl he wanted." Brody just grins. "I'll take that as a yes." Brody snorts. "Well I was the foreign student with a heavy Spanish accent, and to top it off, a lesbian. I'm happy to put those days behind me."

Santana continues to walk while Brody follows her until she reaches the classroom and takes out her key the principle gave her, along with the kids schedules and locks for their lockers, to unlock the door.

"So I take it High School wasn't fun for you." Santana just scoffs as she struggles to unlock the old door. "You know, I bet if we went to the same High School, you wouldn't of had to worry about any of that."

"Oh, really?"

Brody smirks. "Not at all, cause you'd be with me. You wouldn't have anyone picking on ya for your accent, and you definitely wouldn't be gay." He says the end with a bit of an edge, not going unnoticed by Santana. As she continues to struggle unlocking the door. Brody then gently replaces her hands with his own and easily unlocks the door with a smug smile. "See? It's good to have me around."

Santana narrows her eyes. "Did that make you feel like a man just now, helping the lesbian you can't have open an accident door?" Brody rolls his eyes with a deep sigh. "I could guarantee my High School career would have been hell if we went to the same school. I'd have to pretend to be attracted to a narcissistic jock, and his equally narcissistic friends, talking about how awesome and hot they are, while bullying the other lesbians."

Brody frowns. "Whoa, what's with the hostility? I was joking, we're friends, I thought making a stupid joke would make you laugh."

"We're not friends, Brody. We're just friendly to each other, you more than me. That's why my wife doesn't like you."

With that, Santana takes her key then closes the door behind her. Santana sets everything up on her desk to pass out to her homeroom students, as they file inside. She greets everyone then gives out all the stuff they'll need for the new school year before the first period bell rings. Since she doesn't have a class in the morning, Santana checks her messages on her phone. One from her wife, and another from Lisa telling her to call. Worried what it might be about, Santana calls the agent first instead of checking the text from Quinn.

"Hi, Santana. I did call your house phone this morning but I guess I missed you guys. I'm calling because I got a call from a lawyer by the name of Ricardo Gomez. His client, and daughter, Sofia's Mother, wants to fight for Sofia. Call me."

Santana feels her heart sink into her stomach. In such a short amount of time, she already loves and cares for Sofia, and she knows Quinn feels the same way. Although she's still introverted and shy toward them, they've slowly started to form a bond with the little girl. The small progress they've made with her will have gone to waste if she goes back to live with her Mother, especially if Gabriella plans to have Marcos live with them again when he gets out of jail.

Thinking of the man getting out of jail, Santana wonders how Gabriella was able to get out. Knowing little about the system through Lisa, and even her own father being a lawyer, the bail for her would've cost too much for the woman to afford, but then she remembers Lisa has said her father is a lawyer as well.

"We're so fucked."

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A/N: Thought, questions, concerns? Don't be shy, leave a review. Although I don't rely entirely on reviews to update, it definitely helps as motivation, especially these days. Since Glee has been over for a few years now, I think motivation is lost on here for this fandom so not many good stories are being updated. I'm not just saying this for myself, but other writers on here, too. Even a review like, "great story, keep it up" is a big help. So keep that mind whenever you read a story. Thank you.