Author's Note: As usual, a big thank you for your follows and favorites, and to Blueskkies, naynay1963, sarcasticSweetLadykisses89, Chuckleshan, lg4az, ishlheard2day, mocblue, AlabamaMiles. Here is a fairly Annie-centric chapter for you all, although as usual, it's also building on some bigger things.


For the first week and a half after I'd finally named and decided to make changes to the Show Your Brave project, whenever I wasn't feeling terribly sick, taking obscenely long naps (I was surprised at just how tired I was) or going about my usual routine with Annie and Brittany, I forced myself to be in the office. My mind had been working overtime, just trying to get everything down on paper, and because I'd been so distracted with all of that and with getting ready to go to Lima for Thanksgiving, I hadn't even had time to notice that my body, in the very slightest of ways, had begun to change. It wasn't until the second Saturday of November, that it finally hit me as I stood in our bedroom and had to struggle to clasp my bra. When I looked down, I was shocked that my boobs, which I thought had been normally sized a day earlier, seemed to be spilling out of the cups. As ridiculous as it sounds, I half expected to see my stomach bulge as well, but even the minuscule amount of pudge that had developed just between my hip bones managed to completely shock me.

"Britt!" I called out, and she stepped out of the bathroom, her toothbrush still in her mouth. "I think...I think I need to get some new bras."

"Wow." She said through the toothpaste foam, her eyes widening before she turned to spit it out and then closed the gap between the two of us, grabbing both of my hands. "When did that happen?"

"I have absolutely no idea, I swear this bra fit me yesterday."

Out of nowhere, I got so incredibly nervous at just how real everything was. I guess that's where the expression seeing is believing comes from, because even though I knew it would be a while before I developed a bump that would give away my pregnancy to other people, actually seeing the beginnings of the new shape my body would take set my heart racing, both in excitement and sheer terror. Even though the baby was only the size of a freaking raspberry, my uterus was stretching to make room, my boobs were growing to make something our tadpole wouldn't even need for another seven months, and in a matter of fifteen seconds, shit seemed to get really, really real. As I started to feel completely overwhelmed, tears sprung to my eyes (at least I was getting used to the hormonal outbursts) and I struggled to keep myself together.

"Hey." Brittany said softly, as she kissed my forehead and my lips. Then, as gently as she possibly could, because she knew how much they ached, she brushed her lips over the exposed tops of my breasts, and my breath hitched watching the tears that formed in her eyes. "Don't cry, San. You're so beautiful."

"It's just..." I buried my face in the crook of her neck, breathing in the almond scent of her shampoo (I was so glad thatdidn't make me sick) as her fingers danced up and down my spine, gently soothing what she knew was going on inside of my head. "Maybe it's not even a big moment, I don't know. It's just that I didn't expect to notice anything physically so soon, and then I could hardly get my bra to close, and there's like an extra something happening on the lowest part of my abs. I mean okay, Brittany, I know there's a baby growing inside of me, but I'm kind of totally weirded out right now. I guess feeling like a sick, exhausted, emotional mess didn't make it real for me, but seeing my freaking boobs grow is apparently too much to handle."

"Well, we know how important they are to you. And you know that I've always loved them." Her lips found mine again and she laughed against them, knowing that she needed to change her tactic in calming me down, knowing that if she could sort of make light of it, it would be easier for me to deal with. "But this is like a whole new level of hotness. I can't wait until they don't hurt you anymore."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, finding myself mirroring her laugh. "You're excited for the growth spurt the rambunctious twins have gone through, are you? Well trust me, babe, they miss coming out to play too."

"Maybe in the meantime, we should go buy you some sexy new bras, you know, so they don't feel unappreciated?"

"I'm sure they'd love that." Her hands gently rubbed up and down my sides, every cherishing touch that I felt calming me even more than her words, and I could tell that she'd sort of drifted off into her own thought process about what was happening to me.

"Beautiful." She breathed again, and I stepped closer, desperately needing her deep, passionate kisses, and her cheeks flushed when I pulled away. "You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, I mean I know I should have been expecting it, but I wasn't and it took me off guard for a second. I'm good now though." I told her as she opened the top drawer of our dresser and handed me a sports bra.

"For now, at least. And remember when I was pregnant, even though my chest didn't hurt like yours does, I was still more comfortable in one most of the time." She explained, even though I already knew why. I smiled at her appreciatively, stealing one last adoring kiss before the two of us really had to finish getting ready.

My standards for what I'd leave the house in had completely changed in the month and a half that I'd been pregnant, probably because I usually felt like crap, and really, really didn't care what anyone else thought of how I looked. After Britt dressed quickly, she went down the hall to tell Annie it was time to leave, and I pulled on leggings (because they're seriously the most comfortable article of clothing ever) and one of Britt's studio hoodies, which thankfully covered my ass because she was so much taller than me. Sweeping my hair up into a ponytail, and slipping into a pair of casual slouchy boots, I made my way down the stairs, feeling totally temperature appropriate, and, at the risk of sounding like I was trying to become a writer for Hallmark, or some terrible TV dramedy, kind of like I was wrapped up in a Brittany hug.

"Ready to go, Mamí?" Annie asked me, nervously hopping between feet.

"Ready I am." I smiled, bending down to kiss the top of her head. "Are you?"

"Course I am, that's why I'm standing by the door. You're always the slowest getting ready-er, silly."

"She does have a point." Brittany smirked, and then softened it into a loving smile when she noticed what I was wearing.

"Shut up." I mouthed to her. "Your clothes are more comfortable than mine."

"Mmhm. I didn't say anything." She chuckled, and tugged playfully at my hood strings. "You do look super cute though."

The three of us, with Brittany and Annie bundled up significantly more than I was, wearing just a hat and gloves over my unzipped jacket, made our way up Sullivan Street to the park. Annie was nearly silent, swinging between us, and I ached to just pick her up and tell her everything would be okay. We'd been talking about it to her for a week, that Rachel and Brice would come to our park with her, and Thoreau from her class (yes, people of New York, continue naming your children like they're dogs) would be there to play with them too. When Britt and I brought it up to Annie, there was an excited sparkle in her eye, one that told us we were making the right decision, even if her fear was attempting to win out. Truth be told, I was nervous too, and I knew that despite the gigantic, reassuring smile that was plastered across her face, Brittany felt it the same, if not more than I did. It was one thing that I knew would never get easier for us, no matter how much time passed, watching Annie have difficulties, but like countless specialists had told us, we could do nothing but give her constant reassurance and be there to catch her when she fell.

"Are you excited, mija?" I asked, looking down at my small girl who was kicking an acorn with her purple sequined boot.

"Guess so." She shrugged, trying to show me her big smile, even though it was clear from her eyes that she didn't mean it.

"We're just going to the park, sweetheart." Brittany soothed, moving us out of the center of the sidewalk so we could stop. "It's the same thing as every other day, except someone you know from your school is there."

"I know, Mama. But-" Before she could get the words out, big tears started falling from her eyes, and I watched, feeling completely helpless as her body started to shake with sobs.

Without missing a beat, Brittany scooped Annie up, and our baby girl clung desperately to the collar of her Mama's coat, as if it were her greatest lifeline. I stepped in closer as Britt backed herself up against the brick building, holding herself up against the weight of her own emotions. I locked eyes with my wife as I began rubbing circles up and down Annie's back.Te sostendré si caes. Estaré ahí contigo si me llamas, I sang into her ear, telling her the greatest truth I could, from both of her mothers, I will soothe you if you fall, I'll be right there when you call. It was so incredibly hard, knowing that even when our girl was at her happiest, she still had struggles happening inside of her head, every day, and when she was at her saddest, it was crippling. Sometimes, I truly believed that her intelligence and emotional self-awareness was more of a curse than a blessing. While she couldn't, even with her advanced language skills, articulate exactly how she felt, she knew she was different, and different is hard for anyone, but at such a young age, it's nearly impossible.

"I just want to-" Annie's words were muffled by both her tears and the puffiness of Brittany's coat as she tried to compose herself. "I just want be like everybody else."

"Oh, baby." Brittany nuzzled her nose against Annie's head and I could hear the catch in her voice. "You're so amazing just the way you are."

" 'S too hard, Mama." She sobbed again, and sensing my wife's own emotional struggle, I opened up my arms to take her. She didn't even try to fight me on it, she just silently passed her to me and squeezed her own eyes shut to keep herself from crying.

"Annie." I whispered, leaning against the wall beside Britt. "I know how hard it is to feel different, and so does your Mama, but I promise you, it's okay."

"But Mamí." She whimpered, wrapping her fingers in my hair like she did for comfort when she was very small, and I couldn't help but think that in that moment, she looked just like the tiny, frail, absolutely beautiful newborn that I saw just moments after her birth. "You know how to have friends. And I try so, so hard but I can't."

"My sweet, sweet girl." I cradled her close to my heart, sinking down to sit on the cold pavement, not even caring how filthy the sidewalk was, or that dozens of people walking on Houston Street for freaking cronuts, or whatever the new fad was, were probably eyeing me like I was crazy, homeless, or both. "I know how hard you try, and I see you make steps that are bigger than you even know every single day. But here's another secret for you to keep locked up with all of my others, I never made any of my friends, they all made me."

"What does that mean?" Annie's eyes met mine, the tears still falling, and Brittany, who had sat down beside us, soothingly brushed every one that fell away with her thumb.

"It means that sometimes, even when it's so hard for you to make friends, there are other people who will still make it happen. Every single one of my friends that you know, and even Mama, made me their friend before I knew how to make them mine."

"It's true." Brittany nodded when our daughter looked at her for confirmation. "We all knew how worth it Mamí was to have in our lives, and even if you have trouble making words, or if you never learn how to approach people to be your friends, there are other kids who will still come to you and want you to play with them. Thoreau's daddy told me that he's very excited to go to the park with you today, so I'm pretty sure that means he already wants to be friends with you."

"But what am I supposed to do?"

"There's nothing special that you have to do, because you're already so special without even trying, Bean. You just have to be Annie, and that is enough for anyone who truly wants to be your friend." Brittany promised her, and I reached over to link my fingers with my wife's.

"And what happens if nobody likes me?" The tiny blonde asked, another small sob hiccuping out of her.

"Well Annalise, I think that's pretty impossible." I kissed each of her cheeks and looked into her searching eyes. "I happen to know that you are extremely likable. And even if you and Thoreau don't end up being good friends, the three of us, me, you and Mama, will know that you gave it your very best try, and then we'll try again with anyone else you'd like."

"Okay." She said softly, looking between Brittany and I who were both desperately trying to keep the smiles on our faces for our daughter's sake. "But if I want to go home, I'm allowed?"

"Of course you are." Brittany moved away the hair that had fallen across the baby's forehead and kissed her there. "We'll see what happens when we get there, okay? And don't forget that if you feel nervous, you can always come sneak a hug from either of us, or hold on tightly to Brice's hand."


After another few moments of reassuring words, hugs and kisses, Brittany stood back up and took a less devastated Annie from my arms before offering me her hand to help me stand. My emotions sort of crept up on me when we started walking again, and I had to quickly bite back tears and wipe my face on my scarf before I managed to start another scene in the middle of the sidewalk. Feeling Brittany's hand squeeze mine tighter, and the half-smile she sent me, telling me I was lucky I could chalk it up to hormones made me feel a little better as we opened up the gate to the park. I know it was irrational, but the dormant, ugly part of my brain that solved intense emotions with anger couldn't help but think so help me, this kid messes with mine and his parents might need me to be restrained. It was terrible, I knew, and not something I would ever act upon, but also kind of natural at the same time. Someone threatens a bear's babies, they rip off their heads, right?

"Hey guys!" Rachel called out from her place over by the swings. Finn was away at a conference for the weekend, and she'd been more than excited to spend the day with us. "Aw, Santana you look so-"

"Don't you dare say cute, Rachel Berry-Hudson." I half snapped, half laughed, and gave Brice a high five when his swing came forward. "Morning chiquito."

"G'morning e'reybody!" The pudgy little boy sang out, and I was thrilled to see a real smile on Annie's face.

"Hi Bricey! Hi Auntia Rachel!" She said excitedly as Britt settled her onto the swing beside his.

"I'm gonna do a quick walk around." I told Brittany, squeezing Annie's calf as she stuck her legs straight out to swing. "See if they're here yet."

"Okay sounds good. We'll be a-swingin'" My wife told me, and our daughter laughed, like she always did when we said it the way she did up until less than a year earlier.

It was good for me to walk away for a minute, to quiet my emotional uprising (I refused to call them mood swings yet). Breathing deeply, my eyes scanned the playground, reminding myself of all the things I needed to whenever I felt upset about my daughter. She is healthy, she is loved, she is protected, she is going to be okay. Just when the lump in my throat seemed small enough to handle, I spotted Thoreau playing hopscotch with an older girl and a different man, one with significantly lighter skin, than the one I saw at school each day.

"Hi Thoreau." I smiled at the wiry boy, hoping he recognized me, and he looked up from his game to wave at me.

"Hello Annie's mom!" He grinned. "Papa, look, they're here!"

"Hey. I'm Santana Lopez-Pierce." I reached out my hand to shake his, and sometimes, I swear, I was just as awkward as Annie at meeting new people, and I had twenty-five years on her.

"Morning Santana. I'm Jarrod." He took my hand in his and shook it warmly. "Wow buddy, you must be right about Annie being the prettiest in her class if this is her mom."

"Um." I wasn't sure whether to feel flattered, offended, or just more than slightly uncomfortable. "Thanks."

"Sorry, sorry." He looked away bashfully. "Christopher keeps telling me I make people uncomfortable when I say inappropriate things like that."

"Christopher?" I raised an eyebrow, but laughed a little, thinking he would get along excellently with Brittany.

"My husband." He chuckled, and the realization hit me. God, I definitely needed to take a look at the parents names on Annie's class list to save myself from future embarrassment. I definitely hadn't realized that Thoreau had two dads, I'd just assumed the man Brittany and I had been speaking to on the phone had been the same one I saw at school. "And this is our daughter Emerson, but we call her Emmy."

"Hi Emmy. How are you sweetheart?"

"Very well thank you." She answered politely, and I couldn't help but think how completely hilarious it was that the kids were named Emerson and Thoreau.

"I know what you're thinking." Jarrod shook his head with a smile. "Christopher owns O'Malley's, the book cafe in Soho, he's really into literature. But hey, Emmy had twins in her first grade class named Sherlock and Watson, so I guess we aren't the nerdiest people in New York."

"Hey, I grew up with the name Santana, I have no right to judge anyone's names. Brittany and Annie are over by the swings, do you want to come over and meet the famous Annie, and the woman who's actually responsible for her good looks?"

"Don't sell yourself short, trust me, I take credit for how handsome this guy is, even though I might have no right to." He joked, ruffling his dark skin son's hair, and I felt myself genuinely laugh. The man in front of me looked about as much like his son as Annie looked like me. Shockingly, even though we'd only exchanged a few words, I actually found myself liking this guy. "C'mon little buddy, let's go over to the swings."

Thoreau tore off towards the swings, and Jarrod made sure Emerson was okay to continue playing on her own before following me in the same direction. While Brittany and Rachel exchanged introductions with the man and his son, one of Britt's eyes never leaving our daughter, I stilled the swing she was on and watched cautiously as she took in the appearance of the boy she so desperately wanted to be friends with. Thoreau stood back a little bit, possibly shy in his own right, while Annie looked down at her shoes, occasionally stealing glances at the boy, while Brice babbled away from his own swing.

" 'S it okay if I swing next to you, Annie?" Thoreau asked, and when she nodded slowly, I felt a smile split my face. "Thanks."

"Sweetheart, why don't you three have one of your swinging contests?" Brittany asked, trying to help her along.

"Okay. DoyouwanttohaveaswingingcontestThoreau?" She squeaked out in one breath, her voice barely audible, and not even bothering to ask Brice, since she knew his answer was always yes.

"Sure!"

"Be careful Jarrod." Brittany warned, taking her place behind Annie's swing. "Rachel will try to cheat, but me and my girl always win."

"We do not cheat." Rachel argued, and Brittany lifted her eyebrows, daring her to really challenge that.

"Oh really? You hear that, Ro? Sounds like Annie and her Mama have given us a challenge. It's on, ladies and Brice!"

"I'll judge." I announced, watching Annie grip the chains of the swing tightly in preparation, and so glad that Brittany had suggested something that she loved so much.

"No funny business, short stuff." Jarrod feigned seriousness, and a crossed my arms across my chest in mock disgust at him calling me short.

"Never. Lopez-Pierces play fair, right Annie?"

"Right Mamí." Annie said, slightly louder than the last time she spoke. "No cheating."

"Okay, ready?" Brittany, Rachel and Jarrod held out their hands, and all three of the kids swung their legs beneath them. "On your mark. Get set. Go."

The three kids (pushed by their more competitive adults) set off swinging, I walked back and forth in front of them, pretending to take it completely seriously. While they got higher and higher, they all began to laugh, and as my heart lightened with the sheer volume of my daughter's beautiful laugher, I pursed my lips, blowing both her and Brittany invisible kisses. Finally, when I was pretty sure they were going high enough that someone might flip over the swings (my total paranoia), I took one last look over all of them and held my hands up for the adults to step backward.

"Would you look at this?" I did my best impression of the race commentator in the movie Cars. "We have a three way tie!"

"A tie!" An elated shriek rang out, and I was in complete shock that it came out of Annie's mouth. She seemed to be just as surprised, as she covered her mouth with one hand in a fruitless effort to hold the giggles that were spilling out inside. When my eyes caught Brittany's, I saw her eyes shining, one hand resting over her heart.

"Alright guys, all this pushing has me pretty tired. I think it's time for the jungle gym." Britt suggested, lifting Annie down from her swing and stopping to accept the gigantic hug our daughter gave her. You're doing great, I heard my wife whisper in her ear, and Annie's smile only grew wider.

At first, I stood extremely close to the play structure as the kids climbed up and chased each other around on the tiny wooden bridges, but after close to a half hour, once the unmistakable pitch of Annie's voice rang out more often than not, I felt Brittany's hand between my shoulder blades, reassuring me that it was okay to sit down on the bench with the other adults. As soon as I sat down, my arm curled around Britt's waist and my thumb hitched itself in her jeans pocket as she rested her head against mine and gently squeezed my thigh. Neither of us could tear our eyes away though, even as we managed to make intelligent conversation with Rachel and Jarrod, we just needed to watch to truly believe it was happening. Annie was really, really doing it, she was making another one of her gigantic leaps forward. We couldn't hear the majority of what she was, but she wasn't just talking to Brice as she called out things like follow me, look and wait up. It was big, probably one of the biggest moments in her short life, and I could have sat there forever, just staring at her.

"Our big brave girl." Brittany whispered, keeping it a private moment between the two of us, and I could do nothing but nod furiously in agreement, and let my lips linger on a kiss pressed against her cheek, a totally different kind of tears than the ones that had fallen earlier threatening to break forth from behind my eyes.

We stayed at the park close to three hours, with me only having to sneak into the bathroom to be sick one time, and when we finally began packing up to leave, Annie eyed both Brittany and I, and summoned us close to her with the wave of her hand. Excusing ourselves, we made our way over to our daughter and crouched down in front of her. Immediately, she threw one arm around each of us, and we squeezed her tightly, allowing every ounce of excited emotion to pass between us. As we let go, Annie pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, and then gave us her I'm going to ask for something smile.

"What's up, buttercup?" Brittany asked, and Annie started up her giggling again.

"D'you think everybody could get some ice cream before we go home?" Her little face was flushed from all the running around, and I wouldn't have cared if it was a negative twelve degree February day in Lima, I would have bought her ice cream, or even an ice cream truck, an ice cream store, a freaking ice cream factory after the big day she had.

"Of course, mi amor. You know we always love having ice cream, but we'll go check with Ro's dad and Aunt Rachel, okay?"

"Kay, Mamí."

"Did you have fun today?" Brittany pulled out Annie's disheveled ponytail, and redid it.

"The most fun. I like having two friends to play with." She told us earnestly, and neither of us could resist going in for another hug.


With the approval of Jarrod (and Rachel, but her approval doesn't really count, because I can just make her do things), the eight of us and the kids, with Emmy zipping ahead on her scooter, made our way over to Emack & Bolio's on Houston. Once the kids were settled in the high seats in front of the window with their ice cream cones, Brittany and I quickly had a silent conversation, and she turned towards our potential new friend.

"We'd really like to have you all over for dinner, after we get back from Ohio for Thanksgiving if you want. The kids really seemed to get along well, and we think that you're okay too." She winked at him, and he laughed wholeheartedly.

"Well I think you're both kind of okay too. And you're not bad yourself, Rachel. Although I may end up divorced because I met the Rachel Berry while my husband is at work. I'll have to tell him you're not as much of a pain in the ass as the tabloids say."

"Oh no, she is." I swore, and Rachel tossed her napkin at me. "But he'll meet her at dinner. As long as you're not just coming for that reason, because otherwise Rach, you're uninvited and Finn can bring Brice."

"We'll definitely be coming for the L-Ps. Chris needs to hear some of these 'Brittany says things that are more inappropriate than me' stories, and I'm pretty sure my boy found a new headliner for the list of things he won't stop talking about. I think he's pretty much enamored with your daughter."

"Uh oh." Rachel faux-gasped. "I'd be careful saying that, Santana will go over there right now and give him her famous don't touch my kid until she's thirty speech."

"Duly noted." Jarrod looked over at Annie, sitting between the two boys and then back to my direction. "Annie has some serious game though, look at her, getting two boys to share their ice cream with her. At her age, I could only wish for that."

"Well look at her moms." Britt smirked. "We've kinda got it going on. It was a sad, sad day for all the men in the world when the two of us got married and we proved that they officially had no chance."

"Not all the men." Jarrod corrected. "As beautiful as you both are, some of us were most definitely not trying to get all up on that."

When we finally parted ways, Annie gave hugs to both boys, and a shy wave to Emerson before nestling herself in Brittany's arms for the remainder of the short walk to her house. Annie put her hand in the print at the door, while Brittany put the keys in the lock and I picked up the small bag that was sitting on the doorstep. Immediately, Annie ran up to her room to tell Milky Way all about her day (I always joked that he was her Lord Tubbington) and I quickly realized where the bag was from and caught Brittany's sneaky little smile.

"You're such a sneak." I laughed, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss. "When did you even do this?"

"When you were in the bathroom earlier. Please, Agent Provocateur is basically around the corner, had I known they'd deliver bras directly to our door and not charge for shipping, I'd have been sending you sexy lingerie every day for the past three months."

"That, my dear, seems like a surefire way to bankrupt us. But you're amazing, and I love you, you know that, right?"

"Well, some hot chick with great boobs tells me it pretty often, I guess I can't really argue, can I?"

"Never argue with a hot chick with great boobs. I'm pretty sure you'll never win. Although if there are two of us, I'm not sure how that works."

"Don't over think it." She chastised playfully. "Just promise me I'll get to see you try them on later."

"As if I'd have it any other way."


Hours later, long after Annie and I had fallen asleep together on the couch while Brittany worked out a few changes on some of the dance numbers for the showcase, we'd all played multiple rounds of Yahtzee Jr., and cooked and ate dinner together, Annie was taking a very special bath in the jacuzzi tub in our bedroom. I sat up on the ledge of the tub with my tired feet soaking in the bathwater while Britt kneeled on the floor, washing the last remnants of cookie dough ice cream out of our daughter's hair. Despite our midday nap, it was obvious that she was fading fast, and I watched her sleepy eyes still flicker with so much excitement.

"T'morrow can I call Ohio and tell everybody 'bout my new friend Thoreau?" She asked hopefully, nodding her head vigorously as if she needed to physically convince us to say yes.

"Of course you can." Brittany promised, tilting Annie's head back and dumping a cup full of water over it to rinse out the shampoo. "And we can even send some pictures on my phone tonight, if you want."

"Oh Mama, yes please! And thank you for helping me be brave today. And you too Mamí."

"We're just here to hold your hands, baby girl." Britt kissed her wet nose, and I felt my millionth surge of love for them of the day. I swear, sometimes I seriously wondered if there was some kind of limit to just how many times your heart could lurch in such a beautiful way. If there was, I was positive that my quota would be just about up.

"Mama's right, that was all you Annalise."


With Annie tucked into bed and sound asleep, pictures sent to her grandparents and Liz in Boston, Britt and I lay on our bed. I'd most definitely made a show for her of trying on my new bras, and then kind of pounced on her, wanting to show her just how much I appreciated how incredibly thoughtful and loving she was to me. With our limbs still entwined under the covers, we both silently replayed the events of the day in our heads. My head rested against her chest as she ran her hand through my hair, and I played with the fingers on her free one. That, coupled with the beat of her heart against my ear, seemed to lull me, and I sighed happily.

"You know, Britt, I think inviting the O'Malley's over for dinner was such a good idea. I mean, Annie's never actually seen us make many friends. With the exception of Rosa, and sometimes, for you, Rick, when you're not pissed at him, neither of us ever really made friends in New York."

"I never really thought about that, but you're right. It's weird, when our teachable Annie moments end up turning into teachable us moments."

"And yet it always seems to work that way, doesn't it?"

"It does for sure." She pulled our entwined fingers up to her lips before lowering them down to rest over my belly button, causing me to think again about the changes there and smile. "But my mom always says that you learn more from your kids than they do from you. I guess she's right."

"Well, at least we know for afact when our two are all grown that we can tell them from our own experience that moms are always right."

"That's definitely true. Even though I do think Annie is so insanely brilliant, managing to make friends with the only other kid in her class with interracial gay parents."

"Or so we think." I laughed. "That class list is borderline impossible to read. But you know what the coolest part is?"

"What?"

"Things like that don't even matter anymore in her generation. I mean, I know she'd never really spoken to Thoreau before, but they talk about things in circle time, and she didn't even think to mention to us that he had two dads, because it didn't even phase her. I know that's how we're raising her, obviously, but I think, or at least I hope, that this is what the world is becoming. It makes me feel really good about the future."

"Yeah, San, that makes me really happy too. And it makes me feel so proud that you're still working so hard to make the world an even better place."