I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own creations.
Thank you for the incredible reviews for the last two chapters, you have no idea how glad I am that people seem to love this! Since you are all being awesome with your reviewing, I will do my best to update as frequently as I can. R&R please :)
Chapter 3
In Shelby's opinion, there is nothing more adorable than a grumpy Santana pouting in her bedroom on her stool in Batman pajamas. Her pleas to stay up just a little longer had fallen on deaf ears and she now has to go to bed a mere twenty minutes later than Brittany, something that only upsets her further. She's tempted to sneak downstairs when her Mama heads into the bathroom to clean up the puddles of water the latina had left behind after her bath but Shelby had caught her doing that in the past and had been furious with her. Luckily, Mama had brought Bugs inside from the car and had given him back to Santana after reminding the girl to look after her things better so she's not alone in the corner. The latina glares at Quinn as the older girl appears in the doorway, leaning against the frame and looking into the red bedroom with a smug smile on her face.
"Hi..Sanny...Mama says you're going to bed early tonight" she states in an overly sweet voice, clearly thrilled at having an oppurtunity to tease her sister. "Maybe she'll spank your butt" Quinn gasps, her eyes gleaming with amusement, amusement that ends when she feels Shelby's hand connect with her backside. Turning in surprise, she realises her Mama had heard everything.
"Apologise to your little sister and then go downstairs, you can help me with the washing up" Shelby states sternly, her hands on her hips as she stares the girl down. "Now, Quinn"
"Sorry Santana" Quinn grumbles, looking up at Shelby for approval and shuffling back downstairs after receiving a curt nod. Shelby sighs as she watches her eldest go, shaking her head in disapproval.
"Mama.. can I please stay up longer? I promise not to be naughty" Santana states in her most innocent voice, gazing at Shelby hopefully from her place in the corner and the woman feel's her heart ache as she shakes her head.
"No baby, I'm sorry but you're being punished" Shelby replies softly, moving to kneel down in front of her with her hands on Santana's knees. "It's okay to have days where you just feel grumpy but it's not okay to be mean to me or your sisters because of it. Mama doesn't like punishing you but I have to do it so that you know what happens when you misbehave" Shelby explains. "And I know that Quinn teases you and I'm gonna talk to her about that, okay?" The woman smiles gently when Santana nods and she lifts her hand to cup the girl's face, leaning up to kiss her cheek. "So, tonight you're going to bed early and then tomorrow is a fresh start. Now let's get you into bed little one" she murmurs, her heart almost melting at the pout on her little girl's face.
"I'm sorry Mama" Santana whispers as she takes Shelby's hand, the woman leading her to bed.
"I know you are baby girl" Shelby murmurs as she pulls back the duvet and sits down on the edge of the girl's bed. "Do you need a diaper?" she asks quietly so that Quinn can't overhear. Santana shakes her head no, a frown on her face and tears pulling in her dark eyes. "Don't be embarrassed sweetie, it's just you and me here. It's our secret" the woman murmurs soothingly.
"But I'm not a baby" Santana mumbles sadly.
"I know you're not. It doesn't make you a baby. Big girl Santana works really hard and she gets a little stressed out, having accidents at night time doesn't make you a baby, I promise" Shelby tells her sincerely, pulling Santana to her and guiding her onto her lap.
"I don't need one tonight" the latina tells her with a serious nod and Shelby chews on her bottom lip as she narrows her eyes at the girl. "Promise" Santana adds, the woman sighing softly..her girl is definitely stubborn, that's for sure.
"How about we put one on tonight and if it's dry in the morning then we can try not wearing tomorrow night" Shelby suggests, her fingers brushing Santana's long black hair away from her eyes. She watches as the latina contemplates this before nodding silently. "Good girl" she smiles, kissing the girl's temple and sliding her from her lap so she can stand up.
0-00-0
Quinn frowns as she dries the plate Shelby had handed to her, doing the washing up is one of the chores she hates the most. At least when she's tidying her room she can stop to fool around every now and then but washing up was something that Shelby always did with her which meant she was supervised. They had a dishwasher but every now and then, if she did something to displease her mama, she would have to help do them by hand.
"It wasn't very nice of you to try and get Santana into more trouble" Shelby states, breaking the silence in the room. "You know that she reacts badly to nicknames and doing that when she was already being punished is not very fair" she adds.
"I know Mama, I'm sorry" Quinn murmurs, hating the disappointment she hears in Shelby's voice. "It's just a name though" she adds, trying to defend herself, even though she knows she was wrong.
"Some people just don't like nicknames and I know you don't like it when people call you Quinny" Shelby explains lightly. She smirks when she notices the frown on Quinn's face, the blonde knows her mama is right. "Why don't you go pick a movie to watch? I'll finish up in here" Shelby tells her, rolling her eyes at just how quickly Quinn leaves the room, desperate to get away from the washing up. Sighing softly, she opens the dishwasher and loads all of the remaining dishes into it, wondering if Santana is asleep yet. She glances at the kitchen clock and notices it's only seven forty five, still thirty minutes until the latina's usual bedtime; no way is she asleep yet. Shelby walks into the hall and pokes her head into the livingroom where Quinn is still searching for a DVD to watch. "I'll be five minutes, honey" she tells her, smiling when the girl nods and smiles. The woman makes her way upstairs and quietly opens the door to Santana's bedroom, seeing the girl laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling.
"Sorry Mama, I can't sleep" Santana murmurs guiltily.
"That's okay, I didn't think you would be able to. You don't need to be sorry for not being able to sleep" Shelby replies softly, making her way over to the bed and slipping under the covers and testing her head on the headboard. She grins when Santana automatically curls into her, laying her head on her Mama's shoulder. Shelby sings quietly, an old lullaby that her mother used to sing to her when she was a child, patting the back of the girl's diaper softly as her voice soothes Santana.
"Te quiero" the girl murmurs as her eyelids grow heavy and she struggles to keep them open.
"I love you too, my sweet girl" Shelby responds tenderly, pressing a gentle kiss to Santana's temple. She stays with her until she hears the girl's breathing even out and she is sure her girl is asleep. Carefully, she slides out from the bed and places Bugs in Santana's arms before tenderly tucking the duvet around her and sneaking out of the room. She finds Quinn waiting on the sofa for her, the opening credits of Finding Nemo already playing and she sits down next to her, pulling a blanket down from the back of the sofa and covering them both as Quinn snuggles into her. Quinn being older and having a later bedtime definitely has it's advantages and Shelby definitely makes full use of having some time alone with the girl. Some days it can be hectic and she worries that she spends so much time running around after the younger girls that Quinn may feel left out. Spending time with her at night when it's quiet is one of her favourite parts of the day, it's Quinn's favourite too.
"Can we get a fish?" Quinn asks her mama sweetly. "Just a goldfish?"
"I don't see why not" Shelby smiles, "We could get one for each of you. Mama has to work tomorrow but we could maybe go pick them out on Sunday. Does that sound okay?" she asks softly.
"Yeah!" Quinn beams, leaning up to leave a sloppy kiss on Shelby's cheek and causing the woman to chuckle. "Thanks Mama"
"Anything for my girls" Shelby smiles, tightening her arm around Quinn in a gentle squeeze as the girl settles back down to watch the movie. It amazes her that even she still at the very least smiles at certain parts of the movie, even though she has watched it with her girls dozens of times. Santana would rarely watch it with them, claiming it was lame and asking to watch Spiderman or Batman instead and every single time she would receive the same answer; no. Adult Santana has a large collection of action and superhero movies but little Santana is far too young for most of them, something that would cause a mini tantrum everytime she was refused. Brittany and Quinn would watch pretty much the same movies in whichever mindset they were in, mostly Disney and other animated movies. As far as they are concerned the classic Disney movies are still the best around and Shelby has to agree. Shelby glances up at the clock and realises it's almost nine so she reaches for the remote and presses stop, Quinn immediately looking up at her as though she has just killed a puppy. "It's time to get ready for bed, babe" Shelby tells the girl quietly. "You can watch the rest tomorrow" she adds and Quinn nods, albeit with a small scowl on her face. "I'll be up in five minutes" Shelby states as the blonde sulkily leaves the room. No matter what time Quinn or Santana were sent to bed it was never good enough, Brittany is the only one who goes to bed without complaint. Shelby moves around the livingroom, picking up a few toys that were strewn about and putting them in their correct place before heading into the kitchen and opening a bottle of red wine to allow it to breathe. She heads upstairs and can hear that Quinn is still in the bathroom as she quietly opens the door to Brittany's bedroom and peaks inside, smiling at angelic sleeping blonde before silently closing the door again. The woman rolls her eyes as she checks on Santana, shaking her head in amusement at the mass of limbs and raven hair that she can see and she tip toes across the room to pull the duvet as far across the bed as she can to cover the arm and leg that hang over the edge of the mattress.
"Mama?" Shelby looks up to see Quinn standing in the doorway and she holds her finger to her lips to encourage the girl to be quiet, especially after how long she had spent helping Santana fall asleep in the first place. She smiles as she crosses the room and takes Quinn's hand while she gently closes the door behind them before leading her further down the hall to her own bedroom. It had taken a lot to have Quinn decide on a colour for her a bedroom and while Shelby isn't particulary fond of the colour, she had been pretty relieved when Quinn had finally decided on green, the white walls had just felt too bare.
"In you get, I'll put your night light on" Shelby smiles. The night light is another secret she has to keep, Santana and her secret night time accidents and Quinn's secret fear of the dark is something that worries Shelby. It's not the accidents or the fear that worries her, it's each girl's anxiety about keeping it secret from the other one that she doesn't like. It's something that she needs to deal with, and soon.
To be continued..
Thank you for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated :)
