November 2015, New York City
Wherever Judy and Russell Fabray Aren't

Waking up in a strange place is quite disorienting. Santana rediscovered that feeling this morning the instant she realized the sun was hitting her face from a strange angle. She snapped up in the bed that smelled a little strange, whipping her head around. It took her a good twenty seconds to realize that she was in the guest room, remembering she and Quinn had redecorated it because Quinn's parents showed up for a visit.

"S, what's the matter?" a groggy blonde mumbled into her pillow.

"Nothing, I just..." she breathed out a little laugh and lowered herself back down, "... I just forgot that we slept in your room."

"What?" the blonde hair flipped towards the wall and hazel eyes darted around the room, "Oh yeah."

"Jeez, a little celebratory wine and we just get the best ideas, huh?" Santana laughed and tucked her hands under her head.

Quinn scooted over a little, slipping her hand into Santana's tank top and her head onto her chest, "And now we have to wash these sheets."

"We don't have to do it right now," Santana said as she brought her arm down to wrap it around Quinn and then kissed her head, "Besides, it's not like anyone's going to be sleeping in here anytime soon."

"You never know," Quinn's shoulder shrugged underneath Santana's arm.

Santana tilted her head down, looking beyond the blonde hair that was tickling her chest whenever she took a breath, to the arm that disappeared into her shirt. She couldn't see the hand that was trailing lazy patterns over her skin and leaving her with that fluttering in her stomach that she never wanted to disappear.

"I love you," she whispered, nuzzling her cheek into the head of hair resting on her chest.

"I love you," Quinn returned, leaving a kiss on Santana's chest and then lifting her head, "And you are so great."

"I was just doing my best to keep you here. I mean, who knows what Papa Fabray would have done if he found out where you really sleep," Santana answered honestly. She couldn't help but flash back briefly to her own parental altercation of nearly four years prior. The last thing she wanted was for Quinn to experience anything similar.

Quinn shifted her positioning a little and gently placed her lips onto Santana's. "I'm not going anywhere," she said softly as their lips parted and she rubbed her nose lightly against Santana's.

"Good," Santana said as she inched forward to kiss Quinn again, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that, this worked," Quinn gestured towards the rest of the room with her head and then brought it back down to Santana's chest.

They stayed lying there in silence for a while. Santana listened to Quinn's breathing as she thought about how perfect things were. She wished they could stay like this all day, but of course, life doesn't come with a pause function. It was only a matter of time before Quinn's phone started ringing and she'd have to get up to answer the call from her parents. With the LSAT less than a week away, she would have to eventually get herself out of bed anyways to do some more studying.

"Maybe they won't call," Quinn mumbled into Santana's chest.

"Get out of my head!" Santana said only a little freaked out by their synchronized thought.

"Maybe you should get out of my head!" Quinn answered back with a sly smile. She propped herself up a little onto her knee and slipped the other one in between Santana's legs.

Never missing an opportunity, "Maybe you should get out of this shirt," Santana replied through her smirk as she swiftly removed Quinn's tank top.

"You know, if you weren't so damn cute when you did stuff like that, I'd be really annoyed right now," Quinn said with a smile.

"Hey, it's hard work making shamelessness this adorable," Santana huffed as she propped herself up on her elbows.

"I know, baby," Quinn replied through fake condescension and pouted lips.

"Shut up," Santana whined sitting up underneath Quinn, forcing her to lean back and straighten out her back.

"Or what?" Quinn teased.

Santana wished she could come up with something clever, but all she could really think about was how much she wanted the nipples that were staring her right in the face in between her lips. Not one to deprive herself, Santana gave in and inched herself forward to suck one of Quinn's nipples into her mouth.

"How absolutely terrible," Quinn moaned as her fingers slid up into Santana's hair.

Santana smirked at Quinn's failed sarcasm and just for good measure, bit down on the sensitive bump between her lips. Not too hard, but enough to elicit a tiny whimper from Quinn's throat. As she kissed and sucked her way over to the neglected nipple, she felt Quinn's hand find her left and then direct it down to the waistband of her underwear.

"Impatient much?" Santana breathed into the skin under her mouth as her fingers maneuvered their way under the waistband anyways.

Just as Quinn opened her mouth to answer, Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" began blaring from somewhere in the room.

"Your parents have the worst perfect timing on the planet," Santana groaned but continued to venture her fingers into Quinn's underwear.

Quinn moaned, but pushed herself away from Santana anyways.

"Come on, this is what voicemail is for," Santana groaned again and wrapped her arm around Quinn's waist to stop her.

"I have to," Quinn pulled away again, managing to get one of her legs off of the bed.

"Tell them you were in the shower," Santana pleaded as Quinn completely slipped from her grip onto the floor and dug her phone out of a pile of clothes.

"Hi, Mom," Quinn answered the call and a frustrated Santana flopped back down onto the bed. "Oh no, you didn't. I've actually been awake for a little while now. You just caught me, I was about to jump in the shower," she caught Santana's eye, quirked up her eyebrows and gestured towards the bathroom with her head.

"Yes!" Santana said a little too loudly as she jumped out of the bed and quickly made her way into their normal sleeping quarters. She turned back around and reentered the decoy room unsure of why she even left in the first place.

"That was just Santana celebrating over some LSAT thing," Quinn answered her mother with an eye roll directed at Santana.

"Sorry," Santana mouthed and sat back down on the bed.

"Of course he does... sure, we can definitely do that... yeah one is perfect... see you soon... I love you, too... bye."

"Let me guess," Santana began as she lowered herself onto to the floor to sit with Quinn, "your dad has some business to take care of... on a Sunday."

"Yup, which means we get a day with Judy, who loves you by the way. She liked you when we were in high school, despite your 'sins' but now she thinks you're just the best," Quinn snickered and poked Santana with her foot.

"Think she'll still love me if she ever finds out that I made you gay?" Santana joked and then got up off the floor.

"You didn't make me gay," Quinn scoffed as she took the hand Santana offered to help her up.

"I know, but I am going to make you do something in a minute..." Santana singsonged as she led a giggling Quinn into the bathroom.

...}{...

A Few Hours Later
Rockefeller Center

"I cannot believe how big that tree is," Judy Fabray said gaping at the scaffolding clad Christmas tree directly in front of 30 Rock, "Television does it no justice."

"You should come back when it's all lit up and everything," Quinn suggested as she led them all to a bench, "without Father."

"Oh, trust me, this is the last time we do anything together. Even with separate rooms he's miserable," Judy said looking up and shaking her head, "But, enough about me, please."

"What do you want to know?" Quinn asked slowly as she brought a spoonful of frozen yogurt to her mouth. Santana almost couldn't hold back the laugh she felt approaching at how worried Quinn was. On the train ride to meet her mother, Quinn confessed that she was still a little nervous about her. She knew all along that her father would be easy to fool because he didn't notice things that weren't directly related to money or drinking. Her mother on the other hand, was a little more perceptive.

"Well, since you updated me on you last night at dinner, I was hoping to get to know your roommate a little more," Judy said turning to look past Quinn and over to Santana.

After recovering from accidentally missing her spoon and biting her lip, Santana answered, "What do you... umm... want to know Ms. F?"

"I haven't seen you since your graduation, tell me what you've been up to the last three years," Judy asked as she stirred her froyo.

"Umm... okay..." she hesitated, not knowing what she should or shouldn't say, then she remembered that Lima is a small town and everyone knew she was gay by the time she grabbed her diploma anyways. "Well," she started, "when I moved here in 2012, Brittany came with me."

"Cheerios Brittany?" Judy clarified.

"Cheerios Brittany," Santana assured.

"But she came back to Lima," Judy added to the story Santana wasn't getting a chance to tell.

"To finish at McKinley, yeah-"

"She broke your heart, didn't she?" Judy jumped in with that sad 'I feel so bad for you' tone.

Santana actually didn't know what to say.

"You knew about Santana and Brittany?" Quinn asked, clearly shocked by her mother's knowledge.

"Everyone knew about Santana and Brittany, honey," the older blonde answered shaking her head.

"You're right," Santana jumped back in, "she did break my heart and it took me a long time to get over it. I did though. Get over it. I found some new and some old friends and started DJing. Things just started to fall into place," Santana shrugged and briefly went back to her melting yogurt.

"Old friends?"

"Yeah, Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry. We ran into each other in the Apple Store and we've been besties ever since," Santana laughed.

"And DJing?"

"Oh my god, Mom, she's amazing! So amazing that she gets paid to do it at this super popular club," Quinn answered for Santana.

"Congratulations," Judy said leaning forward to look at Santana.

"Thank you," Santana replied and felt her cheeks burn.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Quinn announced, placing her hands on both her mother's and Santana's laps, "I think there's one fairly close by."

"There isn't one in the Lego Store, so don't even bother," Santana rolled her eyes.

"No, I think if I go in the door over there, there's a bathroom downstairs," Quinn said pointing diagonally, "I'll be back soon. Try not to scare her, too much."

"We're fine!" Judy scoffed.

"I was talking to Santana," Quinn laughed. She grabbed all of the empty cups and started her quest for a bathroom.

"Very funny, Q!" Santana called out.

"So," Santana turned back from staring at the doorway Quinn had just disappeared into to the voice that wanted her attention, "how long did it take you and Quinn to set up that room?"

"Huh?" Santana eloquently responded, blatantly caught off guard by the question presented to her. She didn't know what to do. All she knew was that Quinn was right, her mother had great observation skills, "I don't think I know what you're talking about Ms. F."

With just one look from Judy Fabray, Santana knew exactly where Quinn got all of her ability to read people. Right then she knew there was no avoiding this.

Judy sighed and then replied, "I know that I haven't always been the best mother, I'm sure Quinn's made that clear, but I know my daughter and I know she doesn't live in that room... and I know that you two aren't just roommates."

Santana felt her chest get a little tight with anxiety and hoped as hard as she could that Quinn would come back. She gulped back as much of the lump in her throat as she could and choked out, "Why me? Why aren't you asking Quinn this?"

"I want her to come to me," Judy shrugged.

"But you're barraging me with questions?" Santana asked, unsure of Judy's backwards methods.

"I don't know when it will happen!" Judy snapped back. "The last time she needed to tell Russell and me something of this magnitude, I failed her. She has every reason to be hesitant to tell me about this. I just..." she dabbed the inner corner of her eye with her index finger, "... I just want to know that she's happy. That's all I want for her."

"Even if that means she's in a relationship with me?" Santana asked quietly out of uncertainty of the answer she was going to receive.

"While I'll admit that it isn't what I always envisioned for her, if she feels that it's right, then it is," Judy admitted as she dabbed the corner of her eye again.

"I love her," Santana said impulsively. She wasn't sure why, but she felt an overwhelming need to convince Quinn's mother that this was fact.

"I know," Judy replied with a smile, "you don't have to convince me. You redecorated a room in your apartment, cooked for her parents and pretended not to be love with her all because you wanted her to be able to stay."

"I need her to be able to stay," Santana clarified, mostly to herself, but she knew Judy had heard her.

"If Quinn must be in a relationship with another woman, I'm happy that it's with someone who cares about her so much," Judy assured, "but, be aware that if you hurt her, you will suffer the wrath of Judy Fabray."

While Santana believed every threatening word, she wasn't worried, "Hurting your daughter is the furthest thing from my mind."

"Good."

"Actually, I want to marry her..."

"Oh, really?"

"Uuhh...I..." Santana stuttered as she tried to remember whether or not she said that last part out loud.

"Just make sure you send me a picture of the ring before you buy it," Judy said through a smile just as Quinn walked back out of the doors she left them through and began making her way back.

"Umm... sure..." Santana gulped out just as Quinn got into hearing distance.

"I knew I gave the wrong person a warning," Quinn said through a slight laugh as she sat back down between her mother and her girlfriend.

Knowing she was still sporting her 'I can't believe that just happened' look, Santana tried to quickly take any attention off of her, "Jeez, Q, did you detour to Alaska? I thought you said there was a bathroom right downstairs?"

"There is, but I guess they lock it on the weekends," Quinn shrugged, "I had to go all the way around near the Starbucks and then wait in line. What'd I miss? You didn't go too hard on her?"

"She didn't," Santana answered for Judy, "come on, it's getting chilly and I want your mom to experience the best banana pudding in New York City. Even if it means standing in an obnoxious line full of tourists."

"I can't wait," Judy said through a smile and when Quinn had turned away, she gave Santana a reassuring wink, "Lead the way ladies."

...}{...

Two Hours Later
Safe, Behind Their Own Door

"That wasn't so bad," Quinn sighed as she plopped down on the couch with her lap top and her Complete Works of Shakespeare.

"Your Mom isn't as bad as you make her out to be," Santana said from the kitchen. She entered the living room as she quickly contemplated the most tactful way to say what she wanted to add, "you know, maybe she'd be cool with it if you, you know, said something about us to her."

"Yeah right," Quinn laughed, "She might be cool with you being into girls, but you aren't her daughter. It's instantly different when it's your own child."

Santana sat down on the coffee table in front of Quinn and put her hands on Quinn's knees. "But she seems so much different than when we were sixteen. Like, she has her own brain. I witnessed her stick up for you yesterday," Santana remembered the awkward, but awesome moment during lunch the day before.

"I'll... think about it," Quinn huffed as she flipped through the thin pages in the tome on her lap.

"I think you should," Santana dipped her head down, hoping that Quinn would look up. She smiled when she finally lifted her head and then laughed a little after Quinn rolled her eyes at her. Getting up from the coffee table, Santana suggested, "Study party?"

"Then a cuddle sesh?" Quinn pouted.

"Perfect," Santana answered and then turned to get her LSAT study things. As Santana dug through the mess that had somehow formed in twenty-four hours for her study guide book, the buzzer started going off. "Who the hell is that?" she yelled as she continued searching.

"I'll get it! You just keep doing whatever it is you're doing!" Quinn yelled out.

"Thanks, babe!" Santana leaned out into the hall for a second and briefly watched Quinn walk to the buzzer. She went back to her search the second she made eye contact with Quinn.

"Fabray-Lopez residence, how can I help you?" Santana heard Quinn say just as she found her study book on her desk chair. She stepped out of the room and when she caught sight of Quinn all she could think about was how great their names sounded hyphenated together.

"Oh my god! I didn't know you were here, too, Quinn!"

Everything in Santana's body stopped. Her legs. Her arms. Her lungs. Her brain. Everything just stopped. She was only faintly aware that the book that was in her hands before the voice came through the buzzer was now on the floor.

There was no way that she really heard that. Maybe she was in some sort of coma and this was some crazy unconscious dream.

"Babe, are you okay?"

"Nope, not a dream," Santana mumbled as she felt Quinn's hand in hers.

A/N: This chapter and the next two are pretty much my favorite. Just letting you know. Clearly, I'm not saying that you all have to agree with me, but I do hope that you enjoyed this at least. Of course I want to hear from you so don't hesitate to leave me a little comment with your thoughts. Love ya!