Author's Note: As always, I love love love you all for reading and for the wonderful reviews everyone has been giving me. It means so much! I hope you enjoy the second half of the birthday party!


Santana carefully placed her keys in the duck bowl at the entrance of their house, holding Nico tightly to her body. She tiptoed toward her bedroom with Brittany following closely behind her holding Olivia. They didn't speak as they placed the babies in the crib, giving each a kiss on the forehead. Santana turned on the rain machine, double-checked the baby monitors, and then they tiptoed down the hall and into the living room.

"You remind me of a spy when you whisper into the baby monitors, San," Brittany giggled. Brittany collapsed on the couch, and Santana stood in front of the TV, pacing back and forth. She finally stopped.

"That was a shit show." Brittany just nodded. "I need a drink." Brittany nodded again.

"Santana, do you remember what the doctor said?" Santana looked at her quizzically. "After two months, it's okay to have a drink or two as long as you don't feed the babies while you're drinking." Santana raised an eyebrow at her wife. Brittany pouted. "They're 11 months old, San. I haven't had a drink in 20 months, Santana! 20 months! We still have that wine that Rach brought us, and I could pump now in case the babies need to feed in the next 5 hours…"

"You had me at 'Santana'," Santana grinned. "You go do what you need to do, B, and I can one-up Rachel's wine." Santana winked at her wife. Twenty minutes later they were dancing in their living room, each with a glass of champagne in hand.

"I love drinking," Brittany said, moving her shoulders to the music.

"Drinking is fun," said Santana, bobbing back and forth, but mostly watching her wife dance.

"I love you," Brittany said, pulling Santana closer to her so that their bodies moved in together in rhythm.

"I'm pretty fun," said Santana, giving her wife a quick kiss on the lips.

"Today was terrible," Brittany said, putting her glass down so she could really get her dance on.

"Tell me about it," Santana said, just shaking her head.


Earlier that Day

The sun had set, and most of the kids from the party had gone home, with the exception of the two classmates Lily was having sleepover and one of Hannah's friends who was going to sleepover. Santana was sitting in a rocking bench with Quinn.

"Look at them," she gestured over to Lily and her friends, playing with the newly opened birthday gifts, "rollin in all that swag. It'd be nice to be a kid again, huh, Q?" Quinn just nodded, her eyes glassy, holding tightly to the neck of her beer. "How's it having Justin back?" Santana said, again attempting to make conversation, yet again. Quinn looked around the yard.

"It's kind of like when he wasn't…back…" Quinn stumbled a little over her words. She stood up abruptly, clapping her hands together once.

"Okay, ladies," she said walking over to where the kids were playing, "and gentleman," she said ruffling Tommy's hair. Santana scowled slightly. She was going to kill that kid. "It's nearly eight, your pizza should be here any minute, so why don't we head into the basement and pick out a movie!" Quinn ushered the kids inside. As they reached the door, Lily ran back outside and grabbed Rachel in a tight hug and whispered something to her. Rachel kissed her on the head and Lily ran back inside the house. Santana wondered what Lily had said. She walked over to where Brittany was talking to Mercedes, Rachel, and Eric. Brittany looked confused.

"Why are you wearing your sunglasses?" Brittany asked Eric as Santana took Olivia from her.

"It's because of the paparazzi. The flashes really hurt your eyes, but wearing dark glasses tends to help a bit," he explained.

"But…we're in Quinn's house. I don't think there will be any paparazzi…" Santana looked over at her wife…she was right, but they had to at least try and be nice to this guy.

"So, Eric," Santana started, desperately racking her brain for some point to steer the conversation away from the annoying fact that he was still wearing his sunglasses. He was an actor…she worked with actors all the time. What did actors like to talk about? "What films have you been in before Spring Awakening?" If Santana could see his eyes, she'd be sure that they would be lighting up. Clearly…actor's liked to talk about themselves. She didn't need her current job to know that…she'd been "friends" with Rachel Berry for 15 years.

"My last film was Double Indemnity: Full Throttle, and before that I was working on a period piece, Flannel in the Wasteland about the 1990's…" he seemed a little disappointed about the vacant stares of the group. "I also did Gotta Have A Gimmick, that film about burlesque performers…" Santana nodded.

"I represented the screenwriter. That was a fun shoot to be on…" Brittany rolled her eyes. Quinn approached the group.

"Your services have been requested after the movie, Santana," Quinn said, placing a hand on Santana's shoulder. Santana raised an eyebrow. "Apparently, a game of vampire pirates is not complete with Master Vampirate Santana," Quinn said, smirking.

"I may be able to fit it into my schedule," Santana laughed.

"You better, if Aunt S doesn't pull through on Lily's birthday, who knows what she'll do the next time you babysit…"

"Who said there was going to be a next time, Q?" Both women laughed.

"So what were you all talking about before I rudely interrupted with my, I'm sure, very boring story about my children?"

"Well," Rachel said, her arm hooked into Eric's elbow, "Eric was just telling us some of the productions he's worked on prior to Spring Awakening." Quinn took a sip of beer.

"Well, that certainly sounds fascinating. You know, there are two things I never get sick of talking about: football and the productions people are working on. I know that sounds strange. My husband is a football player, so obviously you'd think I would get sick of football, and James, here," Quinn said, gesturing to Mercedes' husband who was currently talking to Justin, "is, what is it again, Mercedes?" Quinn fake questioned her, "an Emmy, Tony, Golden Globe and SAG award winner? He just has what, two Academy Award nominations under his belt?" Mercedes nodded, but didn't smile, she just stared at Quinn, and then Santana. "And Santana is an entertainment lawyer, and Brittany is one of the most sought after dancers in LA, especially for shoots, and Mercedes' is a Grammy award winning singer, and Rachel here, the lovely Rachel, has won two Tony's. So, no, I never get sick of talking about productions." Quinn looked at her beer. There was only foam at the bottom. "I'm going to go get another drink." Quinn went back inside the house.

"Okay," said Mercedes, "I'm going to address the elephant in this barbeque. What is going on with Quinn?" Brittany shuffled her feet, wondering whether or not she could talk about her friend in front of this stranger.

"She always gets stressed out planning these parties. You know that, Mercedes." Mercedes nodded. "Plus, Justin has been home for a record month, in total, so far this year. I think Q is just stressed about having him back." Brittany's explanation was cut short by Justin approaching the group.

"Have any of you seen my lovely wife?" He asked.

"I think she's inside, getting another beer," Eric said. Justin nodded.

"So, Rachel, how is shooting going?" He asked Rachel.

"It's fine, Justin. How is throwing a football going?" Luckily, Quinn showed up with her beer before Justin could answer. She leaned her head into her husband's chest and he wrapped his arm around her.

"It's great actually. You know, the Eagles won the Superbowl this year."

"I didn't know that, actually. How wonderful." The rest of the group stood in silence. "Are you an Eagle, Justin?"

"Yes, Rachel. I've been playing for the Eagles, I believe, since we first met."

"Funny how I didn't remember."

"So…" Justin said, clearly not enjoying his "conversation" with Rachel. He turned to Eric. "You were in that movie with Puck, right? What was it called?"

"Who is Puck?" Eric asked.

"Noah Puckerman. You were in some remake action movie with him…"

"Oh yeah, I had a bit part in The Big Sleep: Red Bull Edition."

"Well, you were good, man."

"So…you all went to High School together?" Eric asked. Everyone nodded their heads.

"We were all in the glee club together," Rachel added.

"That's a pretty impressive resume for a High School class. Was it an arts school or something?"

"No," Brittany said, "just your run of the mill public high school in a small town in Ohio."

"I guess we got pretty lucky," Santana's forehead scrunched, thinking about it, "that we all have made it pretty big…"

"Yeah," Eric said, "between the group of you and your spouses you are practically controlling the entertainment industry." Santana smirked.

"Santana, I think it's time you played with the girls," Quinn interrupted. "You're going to have to get your little ones to sleep soon right?" Santana just shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, let's go in, I'm going to start cleaning up in the kitchen." Quinn grabbed Santana's hand and led her into the house.

"Q," Santana said, the minute the door was closed, "what's going on with you?" Quinn didn't respond. "Okay, I know I'm not the one people usually go to with their problems, or whatever, but you seem really upset."

"I'm fine," Quinn said, stacking a pile of paper plates to throw away. "Just a little stressed out. The best thing you could do for me is play with my kids." Santana nodded and headed into the basement. Meanwhile, Quinn continued to collect the trash. That is, until Rachel stormed through the door.

"What is with you tonight?" Rachel asked Quinn, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Quinn said, continuing to stuff paper plates and cups into the trash.

"Well, you've barely spoken to me, for one. And when you do talk to me, you only have something sarcastic to say. And you won't even speak to Eric. You'd think the one time I actually have a date you'd be happy for me and want to get to know him."

"It's not like you're all buddy-buddy with my husband," Quinn shot back.

"Quinn. I already know your husband. I've known your husband for years. What do you expect me to be like after taking care of you all month being miserable on account of him?"

"Oh, well I'm very sorry, Rachel. It must be hard having to take care of pathetic little me all the time instead of running off and living your glamorous, movie-star life, and going on dates with your hunky costars who wear their sunglasses at night at a child's birthday party!" Rachel started laughing, and Quinn couldn't help but smile a little.

"Yeah…he's kind of a…jerk. Or what is it Santana says?"

"A tool." Quinn said quickly. Rachel laughed. She put her hand lightly on Quinn's forearm.

"Seriously, though. Did I do something to upset you?" Quinn shook her head. She took a long swig out of her beer. "Well you're obviously upset. You've had like 5 beers, which I know that you know will go straight to your stomach, and even Santana's obsession with the plank won't get rid of a beer belly. And you can't deny the fact that you're not talking to me." Quinn turned to face the kitchen sink, leaning her arms on the countertop and looked out the window at the party that was still going on outside. Rachel, leaned with her back against the counter next to Quinn so that their shoulders were touching. She nudged her side. "I felt as though we were becoming actual friends, Quinn. It was nice to have someone to, you know, spend time with, or even just…talk to when I come home from work. I would just like to know what I did, so that there's the possibility that I can fix this."

"You didn't do anything Rachel," Quinn said, looking over her shoulder to see Rachel and finding that Rachel was looking over her shoulder to look at her. It was an odd position to be in, Quinn thought. Unnerving. She turned her head back up to face the window. "It's just you were late, and the girls were looking forward to seeing you, you know, you've been around so much lately, and then when you did show up it was with that guy, and then all these crazy thoughts went through my head about what it meant that you were seeing someone and didn't tell me, and what you had prioritized over us that made you an hour late, which I know is crazy, of course you should prioritize a boyfriend over me and my family. I don't know…"Quinn stopped, and looked down again at Rachel. Rachel was smiling softly. "What?" Quinn asked.

"Nothing, it's just…" she paused. "You're rambling. Is that what I sound like?" Quinn laughed. "Eric's car broke down about four blocks from my apartment," Rachel began. "I made him leave it, so that we could walk back to my apartment to get my car, because I didn't want to be late. I let him drive, because he is a faster driver than I am—"

"Everyone's a faster driver than you are, Rach," Quinn smirked at her. Rachel glared.

"Anyway, I let him drive, and he had the genius idea that we should take Franklin all the way down instead of going south first, so, of course, we got stuck in Hollywood Bowl traffic. We finally make it to Santa Monica, which was relatively open, and I get a flat. I, in my infinite wisdom, failed to replace the spare tire in my car after the last time I got a flat, so we had to wait for AAA to arrive, fix my tire, and that's why we were late. Which you would have heard all about had you been talking to me." Quinn rolled her eyes. "And he's not my boyfriend, he's someone I work with, who I invited to come with me because it's terrible going to these things on your own. You've been married for like 8 years, Quinn, and you've been with Justin for 12. You don't know what it's like. There's always that point at parties where you find yourself standing awkwardly alone, sending fake text messages and reading fake emails so you're not just standing there, watching everyone else having intimate conversations with their significant others. Almost everyone we know is married, Quinn. And with Justin back, I didn't want to be stuck standing around your house by myself. Because you're right, I have spent a lot of time here lately, and I have loved spending all this time with you and your girls…in a way it has kind of become like a second home to me," it was Rachel's turn to look at the ground. "I didn't want to feel out of place somewhere that has kind of become my home," Rachel mumbled.

"Why were you holding his hand?" Quinn asked softly.

"I don't know." Rachel said, turning to look at Quinn who was staring at her hands, clenching the edge of the sink. "I was leading him around the party. It's natural that you end up holding someone's hand. Plus…I may have had a little bit to drink when we first walked in," Rachel turned red. Quinn raised an eyebrow at her. "I was nervous!" Rachel defended herself, making eye contact with Quinn for the first time since they began this conversation. "I may have chugged a beer when we first walked in the door…"

"Rachel. Berry. I didn't know you even knew the word 'chug'."

"Hey, I went to college too, Quinn." Quinn smiled.

"I'm sorry for being an ass," Quinn said, looking over her shoulder at Rachel again. Rachel turned to look at Quinn, they had been standing close when they were side to side, so it didn't occur to Rachel how close they would be if she turned to face her. She felt a little awkward, her chest grazed lightly against Quinn's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for bringing some random guy to your daughter's birthday party," Rachel said. She put her arm around Quinn's back and stood on her tiptoes as they hugged. Quinn buried her head into Rachel's hair. Just then, Santana opened the door to the basement.

"What happened to you, San?" Quinn asked, pulling out of the hug.

"I don't want to talk about it." Santana said, putting her, now crushed, fedora on her head and holding her hand up at the two women. She opened the sliding door. "B! Time to go! Get the kids, I'll get the stroller ready!" She turned to walk through the kitchen towards the office where the stroller was and came back in moments later, the stroller unfolded and Brittany juggling the babies on each of their hips. Both babies were asleep, so they didn't bother putting them in the stroller, Santana just took Olivia from Brittany.

"San, what happened?" Brittany asked as she handed her their daughter.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"And, Q, why are you so red?" Quinn turned even redder.

"I don't know…it's been happening to me a lot when I drink. I must be getting an allergy or something…"

"Okay, well give us a call tomorrow if you need anything? Or Monday after Justin leaves?" Brittany said from the door to Quinn's house.

"Of course," Quinn said.


Back at Brittany and Santana's

"I'm so sorry, baby," Brittany said, holding a pack of frozen peas to Santana's left eye.

"It's okay, B. It happens. Obviously." Santana replied, gently kissing the inside of her wife's wrist. "The right one hurts more now, B." Brittany moved the frozen peas over to Santana's other eye.

"I just feel so bad…first Vampirate, and now this…I just get a little enthusiastic in my dancing sometimes…"

"B…I completely understand. Please don't apologize. Dancing plus champagne after our painfully sober last few months, who could expect anything else? Plus, it's still early after the injury, we don't really know that both eyes are going to turn black…"

"No…both eyes are already black, San," Brittany said, switching her frozen peas back from the right eye she had injured to the left eye Lily had injured earlier.

"Well, I guess my work is used to seeing me enough with black eyes by this point, they probably won't think anything of it."

"I like that positive thinking, San." Brittany beamed at her.

"It's only because your shirt ripped when you accidentally hit me, and your boobs have been hanging out for the last, like, thirty minutes." Brittany looked down. Santana was right.

"Ugh, San, why didn't you tell me?"
"I have two black eyes, Brit! Let me at least enjoy something tonight!" Brittany leaned over to Santana and they kissed, and then Brittany pulled her off the couch and into bed.