Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 48th cycle. Now cycle 49!

"Step Forty-One, Soak It Up"
(Kurt), Brittany/Santana, Catalina Lopez & Melinda Pierce (OCs)
Paper Heart series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

The weekend was theirs. The week going by was one thing. Santana was at school, Brittany was at home, with her lessons from Mr. Schue. Hanging out after that, it just wasn't the same. So when the weekend arrived, that was their cue to make up for it.

On Thursday, Brittany had suggested that they take their little sisters and go do something, the four of them. Santana wasn't sure at first, but Brittany insisted, so she agreed. Their sisters already got along, just one year, one grade apart. And she knew Brittany, in these last few weeks, was learning to embrace the caretaker in her, and looking after Melinda and Catalina was kind of her way to do that.

Saturday morning, Santana and her sister arrived at the Pierce home, finding the second half of their group not as ready as they were. Melinda had gone and lost one of her shoes, which she now searched for, while Brittany was on the phone with who they'd realize was Kurt.

He was getting ready, as she was, for the next phase. They were just under three weeks from the due date, and for all they knew the baby would be early. If that was the case, then she wanted him there, as much as he wanted to be there. That meant they had to start on living in one another's homes, in the rooms they had set up. It was going to have to happen sooner or later, so they might as well develop the rhythm, get settled in, before they actually had their son to look after. He was going to come help her get some things to his house the next day, where she'd stay for a week or so.

She hadn't realized they had arrived until she looked back to hang up the phone, and there was Santana at her bedroom door. The smile that came to her face just made Santana smile right back. Once the phone was down, Santana approached, sitting on the edge of the bed, next to Brittany.

"How's Baby Daddy?"

"He's good," Brittany shrugged. Santana smirked, reaching out to rest a hand at the blonde's belly, which made her smile again. "He's good, too."

"Is he coming out anytime soon, you think?" she asked.

"I don't know what he likes yet," Brittany sounded confused, and Santana closed her eyes.

"Never mind. Ready to go?" Brittany nodded. "Think Melinda's lost her shoe."

"Yeah, she does that," Brittany got up, Santana reaching to help her on reflex. They went and found now both their sisters on the search for the missing shoe.

"Just put other shoes on!" Catalina was sighing, sounding frighteningly like her big sister.

"No, but they're my good… Got it!" Melinda suddenly sat up, holding the red shoe in the air. She slipped it on, and she stood up. Now they could go.

They hadn't planned anything too specific for the day, they would go as they decided. They had just made it out the door when Catalina asked if they could go to the movies, a suggestion which found a supporter in Melinda in a heartbeat. They were stuck on two options, which were discussed in the car and ended when Santana made a simple decision.

"Screw it, let's just do both." The girls in the back were all for that, thrilled at the thought. It would be a good and relaxed day, which at this point was just as well; Santana didn't want Brittany overexerting herself, watched her like a hawk. Brittany would just smile to herself and do as told.

They got to the movie theater, with Brittany leading her little sister along by the hand. One candy run later, they were heading in to their first movie… which was already packed with people, kids and parents.

"We're going to miss the beginning!" Melinda begged, tugging at her big sister's arm.

"Yeah, good luck getting four seats together," Santana scanned the room. Brittany didn't look troubled at all.

"Four seats? I got it," she moved in front, belly ahead, and led them all down the aisle. It didn't take long for a woman on the end of a row to spot her and start making people move down, freeing up four seats. Brittany gave her thanks, letting the others in so she'd sit on the end. This left Santana at the other end of their group, with their sisters in the middle. She would have preferred being closer, but there was no chance Brittany would leave the girls unguarded.

Brittany threw her a look over the girls' heads as though to say 'see, I told you.' Santana replied with a slow clap and a smirk – 'well done.' Maybe they weren't side by side, but it was still easy for them to look over, letting their eyes do the talking through the movie. Santana could see Brittany trying to squint at her jelly beans, to make out the colors and the flavors in the darkness. Whenever a particularly bright moment came in the movie, allowing her to see, she'd pounce to hurry and sort out the colors. Seconds later, each of them would be handed a small pile of their preferred flavors.

When the first movie ended, with little time to spare in between, the four had to hurry. They split off, Brittany taking the girls to the bathroom while Santana got more snacks. They'd bought their tickets already, which would be shown to have been a wise move when they'd see how packed the room was.

They all got there about the same time, and Santana waved them in to hurry. Brittany took the lead once again, though this time she spotted a side aisle of four that was empty, and she nudged the girls ahead to go hold it for them. They took the wall seats, leaving Santana and Brittany on the edge seats.

"Better," Santana heard Brittany say as they sat, and she smiled, handing her a new bag of jelly beans.

"Ease off, okay, before the kid turns into a jelly baby," she joked. Brittany's hand froze in mid-air, bean between her fingers.

"That wouldn't…" she hesitated. "I've had a whole bag already, I…"

"No, no, it was a joke, I promise," Santana breathed. "He'll be normal and cute, really." Brittany still didn't look sure, but eventually she started eating her jelly beans again.

Being side by side this time around, they definitely enjoyed themselves more, whispering along through the movie. For a moment it was easy to pretend like it was the way things used to be, where they didn't have things like babies to worry about, and she didn't have things like feelings and labels to worry about. But then she'd mention something like the baby was kicking, and then they were back, and Santana was still feeling like she was running out of time to do something.

By the time they got out of the second movie, Melinda and Catalina were trying not to admit it, but their stomachs were at their full capacity, overloaded with candy.

"Walk it off, walk it off," Santana smirked as she and Brittany led them out of the theater. "And Mom and Dad don't need to know, alright?" she told Catalina, who nodded with a frown.

"I had a really good time today," Brittany told her after a beat, and Santana looked over with a smile.

"Yeah, me too. So what do you want to do next weekend?"

"I don't know…" Brittany thought, smiled to herself. "We'll think of something. The weekend is ours, right?"

THE END

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