Hey guys! Glad you like the story so far :)
The adults ate cake amiably while catching up. When he finished, Sam decided to join the kids in the bouncy castle. "He's just never gonna grow up…", Santana chuckled and shook her head.
Mercedes slapped her friend's knee. "Shut up, I love my big goofy husband. He makes me laugh."
"That's always good, Cedes." interjected Quinn, "humor is very important in a marriage. Did I ever tell you guys about what happened on our trip to Costa Rica?" Rachel blushed and tried to cover Quinn's mouth, but the blonde managed to get away. "Don't you dare Quinn Lucy Fabray-Berry, I will kill you!"
Quinn found shelter behind Santana and Rachel buried her face in her hands and shook her head. Quinn sat back next to her wife and continued her story, grinning. "So we get to San José, right? And Ms. I-excelled-at-Spanish-in-school decides to venture out of the hotel one day looking for this small pub where they played live jazz she heard about from one of the cleaning ladies…" Rachel gave a muffled groan and Quinn put her arm around her. "So she asks the cab driver to take us where they play live music, but she says bar de mujeres, instead of música – " Santana laughed and muttered: "Oh man, Berry, you didn't!"
Quinn put her hands up. "Wait, wait! So, the cab driver looks at us funny but takes us to this seedy part of town, right? We walk into this house and we immediately see naked girls ALL AROUND us!" The girls laughed. "Turns out a bar de mujeres in Costa Rica means Strip Club." Rachel joined in the laugh while throwing Quinn a half exasperated look.
Mercedes looked at both of them. "So, did you stay?"
Quinn shook her head as she wiped a tear. "God no, it was so tacky! We went right out and got into another cab. This time I had to do the talking and got us back to the hotel. She didn't speak another word of Spanish the rest of the trip!"
Rachel looked up. "It was mortifying ok? I came back and took some lessons so that never happens again…" She buried her head in Quinn's shoulder as the rest of them chuckled.
Santana took a sip of her drink. "Well, I'm just glad no one found you there, because even I would have a hard time spinning the whole 'Lesbian Broadway Star visits seedy Costa Rican strip club' into a good thing…" She smiled towards Rachel, who turned around to look at her and smiled back. Mercedes clapped her hands as she stood up. "Well, I think that calls for another drink! What do you girls say?" The girls cheerfully agreed and Mercedes walked over to the outdoor bar to get another bottle of wine.
It was getting dark outside and the kids were finally losing some steam. After saying good bye to the last of Sophia's friends from school, the only people left at the party were Quinn and Rachel and their boys, and Mercedes and Sam. The boys and Sophia were ensconced in a whispered discussion, while the adults were helping Santana clean up the backyard. When Sam took out the final trash bag, they all collapsed in the living room with some red wine. Sam flopped next to Mercedes and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "So glad our kids are all four legged and can be left alone at home for a few hours." Mercedes grinned and patted his thigh.
"They are still a handful, babe, so don't go counting your blessings!" Sam made a face and they all laughed good-naturedly.
Santana looked over at Quinn and Rachel cuddling on the couch, Rachel absentmindedly stroking Quinn's leg while resting her head on the blonde's shoulders. She felt that familiar pang of sadness that came over her when she saw her friends happy and in love, while she was neither. Well, ok, I AM happy because I have a wonderful daughter and a great career. Still, she hated admitting to herself that she was aching to have someone to share it all with.
After a second bottle of wine, Mercedes and Sam said goodbye to everyone just as Sophia ran in and whispered something to Rachel. Santana eyed them suspiciously. Rachel whispered something back and Sophia turned towards Santana with wide eyes. Santana knew that look, it was her 'I am about to ask you for something' look.
"Sophia, no more singing, ok?" Sophia bit her lower lip and wrung her hands, causing Santana to smile at her small double.
"Mami, can Luke and Chris sleep over tonight? They said Uncle Puck showed them how to build a fort and I want to build one too for my birthday…"
Santana locked eyes with Quinn, raising an eyebrow. The blonde shrugged as if to say 'it's your call'. Santana sighed. "Fine mija, they can stay." Sophia yelled in excitement and ran out of the living room, so Santana called out to her: "Make sure you all wash your hands before moving stuff around!" She turned to her friends who had on satisfied smiles. "You both need to go fix up the twins' bedroom before you leave."
Rachel beamed and stood up. "No problem, thanks for letting them stay, they have been building forts all week long at our house!" She took Quinn's hand and both went over to the guest bedroom to put out pjs for the twins. Long ago, Santana decided to set up the guest bedroom as a second nursery for the twins, since they were constantly coming over and she wanted them to have their own space. Santana was crazy about her godsons and she spoiled them every chance she got. Sophia also had a spare bedroom at Quinn and Rachel's, and Mercedes and Sam had a room with bunk beds for all three of the kids.
Santana took the empty wine glasses to the kitchen and rinsed them before flopping back on the couch and putting her feet up on the table.
"Ok, San, all set! The boys' pjs are on their beds and we left some snacks on the fridge earlier so they can have those a little later. Quinn will come over tomorrow to pick them up in the morning, is that ok?" Rachel sat next to the Latina, who nodded.
"Yeah, that's fine, just go enjoy your night off!"
Rachel chuckled. "Oh I think we can manage just that!"
After Quinn and Rachel left, Santana went up to the family room to check on the kids. They had managed to build a fort using Sophia's pillows and her comforter, and were now deciding on what to do.
"That's a cool fort guys, good job!" Santana sat on the floor next to them, but Luke put his hands up.
"Thanks! But you're not allowed in, no grown-ups in the fort!"
Santana feigned shock. "Whaaaaaaaat?"
Chris shrugged and flashed his killer grin, green eyes sparkling. "Sorry auntie, those are the rules."
"Yes, mommy, sorry!"
Santana shook her head. "Fine, fine, I get it, so what are you going to do in your fort now? Or is that super-secret fort information?"
They all shook their heads. "We were thinking about watching a movie, but Sophia said we needed to ask for your permission first."
"And Sophia is right, Luke, you need permission to turn on the TV. Have you decided what you want to watch?" Luke made a face and pointed at Sophia with his thumb.
"She wants to watch Frozen again, but Chris and I want to watch the Lego movie!" "Yaaaay, Lego Movieeeee!" Chris started chanting 'Lego Movie' over and over while Sophia glared at him.
"But I said it's my birthday so I get to watch what I want, right mommy?" Sophia looked at Santana expectantly.
"Well Sophe, that's not how it works when you have friends over and you know that… So I say you have to choose something else that all of you want to watch. Deal?" Sophia bit her lip and nodded, while Chris looked through the DVDs.
"How about Wreck it Ralph?" He turned towards his brother and Sophia, both of whom took a second before nodding and smiling. Santana took the DVD out and popped it in for the kids, who were now getting comfortable in their fort in front of the TV.
"You guys want some snacks for your movie?"
"Yes, please!" They all said in unison. Santana chuckled and brought the twins the snacks Rachel left in the fridge and cut up some apple wedges with caramel sauce for Sophia. She gave them each their snack and sat behind them in the couch pulling her laptop closer to get some work done while glancing at the movie every now and then.
She opened her email and started answering some work mails while looking over some contracts before forwarding them to Lina, her right hand. Having her own PR firm was hard work, but she loved it, and she was very good at it. Of course, handling the singing superstar Mercedes Jones and Broadway diva Rachel Berry was excellent for business. They were still her biggest clients and she tried to deal with all of their PR personally, but she had three other clients that were starting to break into the business: a young up and coming actor who just landed a big TV show, a pretty country singer who had just won a singing contest and a funny stand-up comedienne who had been offered a part in a big budget movie. Lina was her right hand and very capable, and then there was Will, a new publicist fresh out of college with a lot of drive and who idolized her. He was the one who was handling the new accounts under Lina's watchful eye. So far, Santana had to say that she was impressed by his work.
Halfway through the movie Santana noticed that the kids were very quiet, and she realized they were fast asleep. She paused the movie, set her laptop down and picked up Sophia. The little Latina stirred as she cuddled closer to her mom. Santana woke her up long enough to give her a bath and put her in fresh pjs, and as soon as her head hit the pillow, Sophia fell back to sleep. Next, Santana went back for the twins and followed the same routine, giving the boys a quick bath before setting them down in their beds. Santana decided to call it a night, too, knowing full well all three of them would be up by dawn the next day. She turned off her laptop, washed the kids' dishes and took a long bath before crawling into her own bed and going to sleep.
She woke up with a start looking at the clock. "Shit!" She muttered as she struggled to get up. The alarm clock showed 7:40 am, and Santana was worried about the eerie silence in her house. She knew enough about the three kids to know that if they were quiet, something was going on. She got up and slowly opened her bedroom door, pausing to hear some noise coming from the other bedrooms. She heard the faint humming of the TV in the family room and followed the noise. She peeked in and saw all three kids eating cereal happily in their fort watching cartoons. She sneaked back up to her room for her phone, snapped a few quick pictures of the three kids and sent them to Quinn before walking in.
"Good morning guys!" All three looked up with smiles on their faces and Sophia ran over to hug her mom.
"Good morning mom! We didn't want to wake you, so I made cereal for everyone!" Sophia took her mom's hand and led her towards the couch.
"I can see that, mija, good job! Do you want anything else for breakfast?"
"Can we have some waffles, please?" Chris said, flashing his big grin. Santana smiled back.
"Sure you can, want to help me cook?"
"Yeeeees!" All three kids stood up, Luke bouncing a little. Santana clapped her hands.
"Ok, then let's bring these bowls to the kitchen please, and everyone wash their hands before cooking!"
In the kitchen, after getting them all clean, Santana started dividing up the work. "Ok Chris, very carefully you're going to take the milk and eggs from the fridge and put them here on the table. Sophia please bring the flour, sugar and vanilla from the cupboard and Luke, you get the bowl and the mixer from down there." All three nodded and set out to do their tasks, while Santana supervised them. When everything was on the table, she got them all on the chairs and helped them measure out the ingredients and mix them in the bowl. After the mixture was done and she was heating up the waffle iron, the kids started to argue.
Luke took the bowl filled with batter and pulled it closer to him. "No, I'm going to pour, because I'm the oldest!"
Chris tried to take it back. "Nuh-uh, only for like 4 minutes! Auntie San likes me the best, so I'll pour!"
Sophia grabbed the big ladle and stood up on the chair, waving the ladle over her head. "You're both wrong, I'm pouring because this is my house!"
Santana turned around and raised her hands. "Hey, hey HEY! All of you, stop!" All three looked up at Santana and stayed quiet. She looked at each of them in turn. "Luke, just because you're the oldest doesn't mean that you can always get your way, and Chris, I don't have any favorites, I love you both the best… And Sophia… is this only your house?" Sophia lowered the ladle and bit her lip.
"No, mami…"
"So all of you need to apologize to one another right now, I don't want you treating each other like that, got it?"
All three kids mumbled "sorry" and sat straight. Santana took a deep breath and grabbed the ladle from Sophia and the bowl from the twins.
"That's better. Now you're all going to take turns pouring the batter, ok?"
After setting full plates in front of the kids who were once again talking excitedly, Santana took out her phone and called Quinn.
Hey Q, morning!
Morning, San. How are the boys?
Having breakfast right now, and how was your night?
It was… great, actually. – Quinn chuckled –
Waaaanky…
Santana, please, we're adults now.
Doesn't mean you can't get wanky with the dwarf.
Don't call me that!
Yeah yeah, whatever Berry, you know it's with love…
We're coming over to pick up the boys in about an hour, is that ok?
We were thinking of taking them to the zoo actually, if you and Sophia would like to come.
Um, yeah, that sounds fun.
Excellent! See ya soon!
Santana put the phone down and sipped her coffee while looking at the three kids, syrup dripping from Chris's chin. She grabbed a napkin and wiped his face, getting a full mouthed thanks from him.
"Ok, eat up and then I want to see all of you changed because…" Santana took a dramatic pause while Luke jumped up and down in his seat with excitement. "we're gonna go to the zoo!" All three kids cheered loudly, and started talking about the animals they would see, Chris reciting the different types of reptiles in the zoo while Sophia shrieked whenever he mentioned a type of snake.
An hour later, the kids were all sitting in the living room watching TV and waiting for Quinn and Rachel to show up so they could leave. Santana was finishing some work on her laptop when she heard the door open and Quinn and Rachel walked in. The boys ran over to hug their moms.
Rachel clapped her hands and held Luke's hand. "Are we all ready to go?"
"Yes!" The boys jumped up and down, and Sophia rushed to join in. "Ok, so let's get going!"
Rachel walked out with the kids and helped them to get in their booster seats in the truck while Quinn and Santana grabbed a bag with snacks and juice for later. When they were all seated in Quinn's truck, they set off towards the zoo, everyone singing Disney songs excitedly.
That afternoon, after being dropped off with a sleepy Sophia in her arms, Santana put the stack of bills from the mailbox on the counter along with her keys, then tucked Sophia in her bed and went to the family room to watch a movie. Her phone buzzed and she glanced at it and saw it was Quinn.
Did we forget something in the car?
No, I didn't see anything, I was actually calling about the invitation, have you gotten it yet?
What invitation?
Ok, check your mailbox! It's a brown envelope.
Santana rolled her eyes as she stood up and walked over to the kitchen counter where she had dropped off her mail. She flipped through the envelopes and found the brown envelope with slant blue writing. She put the phone back up to her ear.
The hell is this Fabray?
Just open it…
Santana cradled the phone on her shoulder as she opened the envelope, reading the invitation fast before holding the phone up.
Whoa, it's their 10th wedding anniversary? That's so weird.
I know, but it's kinda sweet, don't you think? That they want to have such a big party.
I guess… so, I take it you both are going?
Of course! Aren't you?
I don't know Q… I mean, going back to Lima…
C'mon San! We'll make a trip of it, we already talked to Rachel's dads, and they're flying in and are gonna babysit for us for the weekend, you know they love Sophia, they can probably take her too.
So we'd only stay for the weekend?
Yeah, I mean, I have a hearing on Monday so I can't stay longer, and you know Rachel's in rehearsals for her new show, so we were thinking of making it a three day weekend, fly in on Friday afternoon, go to the party on Saturday and come back on Sunday.
Well, it does sound like it would be fun, so what the hell, I'm in!
Awesome! Now call Mercedes and see if they're going too, so we can all go together.
I'll do that now, Q.
Great, and Rachel says to please remind Mercedes that it's her turn to host the potluck tomorrow! See ya!
Santana clicked off the phone and read over the invitation once more.
Will and Emma Shuester cordially invite you to join them in celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.
Had it really been 10 years since they had gotten married? How time flew by… Santana grabbed her phone again and called Mercedes.
What's up, girl?
Hey, Cedes, did you get your invitation to Shue's anniversary shindig?
Yeah, Sam just opened ours, we were just talking about it, it's so exciting!
So I'll take it you guys are going, too.
Well, duh! We wouldn't miss it.
Quinn and Rachel ask if we were all going together, we can only make it a three day thing and remember you have a sit in interview with Rolling Stone that next Monday.
I know, I know, Miss Work, relax. A three day weekend sounds perfect! Tell you what, leave ALL the traveling arrangements to us, we'll take care of it ok? Are you guys coming with the kids?
Cedes, c'mon, that's so not necessary… And no, the Gayberrys are going to babysit here.
Do they know you call them that?
Yeah, it slipped once and they laughed, it's cool.
Only you could get away with that Satan… So it's an adult weekend, awesome!
We can talk about it tomorrow, since Rachel wanted me to remind you it's your turn to host the potluck.
I know, I know, jeez, I forgot ONCE and she won't let me off the hook… Ok, we'll talk tomorrow, bye girl!
Santana closed her eyes as she started thinking about the upcoming trip back to Lima. She was excited to go back and see Will and Emma; it had been too long since she had been back for their traditional New Directions' Thanksgiving celebration. Last year Sophia had gotten an ear infection, so she hadn't been able to make it, but she had gotten enough updates from Mercedes, Quinn, Rachel and Sam to feel as if she'd been there. Quinn swore she had seen Puck and Kitty making out in the alley after the party, but Rachel adamantly maintained that Kitty had been inside dancing when they left. There was always a story after Thanksgiving, and because they were both tipsy, Santana didn't know which one to believe.
The next day, they were all at Mercedes and Sam's house for their weekly potluck, the kids splashing on the pool. The picnic table was filled with dishes and the air was full of the kids' laughter. The friends sat around the table, passing trays around and filling their plates with different dishes. Santana grabbed a casserole, smelled it and made a face before passing it to her left without stopping. "Ew, Berry, why do you insist on making that tofu broccoli shit, it's disgusting!" She scrunched up her nose as Rachel glared at her.
"For your information, it's very nutritious and it tastes delicious, Quinn and my boys love it." And as to prove her point, Quinn grabbed a spoon and filled half her plate with Rachel's casserole. Rachel turned to her wife and smiled proudly. "See?"
Santana smirked. "She's just doing that cause she knows she won't get any if she doesn't eat your plaster."
Quinn dropped her fork. "Santana!" While Sam choked on his beer and Mercedes laughed. Quinn picked up her fork again, wiped it with a napkin and cleared her throat. "Don't listen to her, honey, you know I love your casserole." She pecked Rachel on the lips and then focused on her food.
Mercedes put a hand up to stop Santana from replying. "Ok, so new topic! The Shuester's anniversary. I have taken care of all the travel plans, so all you need to do is come to our house by 4 on Friday and then we'll go from here!"
Sam grinned. "Yeah, it's gonna be amazing!"
Just then, Chris ran up to his mom, soaking wet. "Momma, Luke keeps splashing me in the face and I told him to stop and he didn't listen." Rachel put down her plate and turned to her son.
"Well tell him that if he doesn't stop, then he'll have to get out of the pool and stay in his room until it's time to leave." Chris nodded, gave his momma a kiss and ran back to the pool.
Rachel took a deep breath. "That should hold them over for about 10 minutes…" Quinn chuckled and looked up. "Oh hon, looks like you were wrong…" Luke came running over, miscalculated and ran full into Rachel.
"Oops, sorry momma, I was going too fast!" Rachel shook her arms and tried to dry herself with a napkin. "What did I tell you about running around, Luke?" Luke looked down.
"That I need to slow down before I fall on my face."
"That's right, sweets, so, what's up?" Luke seemed to remember his hurry and started jumping up and down and talking fast without breathing.
"Chris-said-you-said-that-I-was-going-to-get-grounded-and-I-said-he-was-lying-and-he-said-he-wasn't-but-I-haven't-done-anything-and-I-don't-think-it's-fair-if-I-get-grounded." he took a deep breath as he finished and stared at his momma.
"Ok, were you splashing him with water even though he asked you to stop?"
"Noooo…" Luke said innocently.
Rachel leaned in to be eye to eye with her son. "Lucas Jule Fabray-Berry do not lie to me." Santana raised an eyebrow at Quinn, who shook her head and put her hand on her wife's back as support. Luke bit his lip and mumbled: "I was splashing him with water even though he asked me to stop…" Rachel sat back up and pulled Luke's chin up so he was looking at her.
"Thank you for telling me the truth. Now, be nice to your brother or play time's over for you, ok?" Luke nodded and Rachel gave him a kiss before patting him on the back as he turned around. Rachel sighed and started eating again as if nothing happened. Santana let out a whistle.
"Whoa Berry, nice full naming there… Do you do that to Q over here too when she misbehaves?" Rachel looked over at Quinn, raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips before looking back at Santana.
"Sometimes."