A/N: Totally not trying to be a dick about updating, I promise. I'm falling into one of those uninspired slumps again, and it's really unfortunate. Is there anything in particular you guys want to see? I can't say it will happen for sure but you might spark the inspiration again, so if you got anything, throw it out there.
"What if I wake her up?" Brittany asked nervously, eyeing the baby sleeping in the crib warily.
Santana shook her head and pulled a onesie out of a drawer, tossing it onto the bed with the rest of Karlie's outfit for the day. She herself was already dressed, a miracle, and now with Brittany's help they were soon going to be on their way to drop Karlie off with Carole and head to school for Santana's first day back. She was more excited than she cared to admit, but four weeks away from her friends and school was about all she could handle.
"She won't. She's sleeping like a rock. Just bring her to me."
Brittany shuffled and hemmed and hawed about the best way to go about picking up the infant for a solid minute before she finally picked her up gingerly, and nuzzled the baby to her chest, leaning back so as not to keep the baby upright.
"I guess she is out..." Brittany commented in a whisper. Santana smiled as Brittany handed her daughter over, very slowly and carefully.
"See, you did it," Santana exclaimed happily as soon as the baby was in her arms. Brittany shrugged a little and sat down on the edge of the bed, watching as Santana skillfully slipped the pajamas off of her daughter and tugged on the onesie without waking her.
"It wasn't that hard," Brittany admitted. "I could have dropped her and she probably wouldn't have woken up."
Santana shot her a look and frowned, putting tiny baby pants on Karlie and sitting her up, holding her just so, so that she could get her shirt onto her.
"Please don't try that."
"I'm excited for you to come back to school!" Brittany chirped happily, beaming at her best friend. "I was getting lonely without you."
"How were you lonely? You had Quinn and all the Glee people."
"Well it's not the same," Brittany insisted, her arms folding over her chest. "And no one laughs at my stories."
"So you need me for an ego boost, right?" Santana chuckled, finally finished dressing Karlie. She checked her diaper bag to make sure she had everything she needed, and then handed it to Brittany.
"No I just really want to be funny and I'm only funny with you."
"Makes sense."
The pair trundled down the stairs, Santana with the baby and her back pack, and Brittany with the diaper bag and her own bag slung over her shoulder. Together they got everything into the car, and the drop off at the Hummel's was relatively pain free, Santana kissing Karlie several times before finally being dragged back to her still running car by Brittany, who was intent to not be late because for some reason the Glee club was singing the announcements this week. Finn followed behind in his own car, and when they arrived at school, Brittany hurried Santana along so fast that she barely had time to throw a quick wave back at him before she lost sight of him in the throng of bustling students.
Brittany didn't lead them through fast enough to where Santana didn't notice the abundance of stares in her direction, though. She was kidding herself if she thought people would let her return go by unnoticed, but it didn't really matter. Being nine months pregnant waddling around school had definitely desensitized her to unwanted attention.
Deciding to ignore the gawking, she carried on, allowing Brittany to tug her into the office, where most of the Glee Club was already waiting, all of them smiling and waving at her, but silent, motioning to where Tina was standing with a mic, speaking into it semi-seductively. It took a few moments for Santana to realize she wasn't in a phone-dating service commercial, but reading today's lunch menu. Brittany bounced up and down beside her, though she stayed perfectly silent. Santana was confused and was about to whisper something when Finn came in and snuck up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Hey," she said softly, turning her head slightly and pecking him on the lips. Brittany automatically glared at her, and she made a zipping motion to show she would respect the quiet as her best friend wanted her to. Finn squeezed her and she pressed closer, happy to see him. They rarely had any time together, but she was hoping now that she was back at school they could at least have one decent conversation a day now. She sighed and turned her attention back to Tina, who was still speaking in that seductive tone that made her want to laugh at the entire scenario. But at least lunch was sounding super sexy today.
"And now we'll be passing the mic to Cheerio Brittany Pierce, who'll be summing up last night's basketball game against North Decatur..." Tina didn't even bother looking, holding the mic out to Brittany, who swallowed and then smiled enthusiastically, though no one else besides the people in the room could see her.
"We lost!"
"And there you have it, folks," Tina said, bringing the mic back to her mouth. "Those are your morning announcements for McKinley High, from the McKinley Glee Club." She pulled back from the mic and everyone else gathered quickly around, and Santana was visibly lost as the others watched Rachel, who was cuing them with a silent countdown from three. As she got to one and nodded her head, they all sang in a light jingly manner.
"Making morning announcements a little more fun, now head on to class and get 'er done!"
"That needs some work," Santana said as soon as the red light on the mic went off, and she could not help but laugh.
"It's all we could come up with," Mercedes added with a shrug. "Mr. Schue veto'd our other, and might I add, more flavorful ideas."
"We've been over this. You can't say "chocolate sexy times" over the school intercom," Mr. Schue said defensively, throwing his hands in the air. Mercedes rolled her eyes, and a few of the others chuckled. Mr. Schue frowned and then let his happy face resume. "Let's all get going, alright guys?" He smiled at Santana and gave her a thumbs up. "Can't wait to have you back in Glee club Santana!"
Classes were boring as usual, time away hadn't changed that. She was happy to find that she'd kept up pretty well despite being sleep and time deprived, and her teachers seemed relieved. The more the day wore on the less people seemed to be staring, she noticed. Well she wasn't really doing anything to stare at, it's not like she had her daughter tied to her hip. She did have to hole herself up in the bathroom to pump breast milk, but other than that blip, here there were no outward signs that she had a baby at home.
Carole texted her throughout the day with little anecdotes about what the baby was up to, and to be expected there wasn't much, but each made her smile and the thought of her daughter having as good of a day as she was made leaving her for the first time so much easier. To everyone's relief, Karlie was taking fine to a bottle, something Santana had only attempted a few times at home but was obviously the only way Carole could feed her.
Lunch was the first time she was able to really speak to Finn, and they sat off in a corner by themselves, everyone seeming to understand that they needed some time alone. Santana picked at her food as she watched Finn devour his, and gave a chuckle at the comfortable silence they had fallen into.
"What?" he asked her, looking around. "Do I have something on my face?"
"No, it's not that," Santana reassured. "It's just funny. This is the first time we've had any time to ourselves, and we're not even talking."
"We're talking now," Finn said slowly, and Santana sucked her teeth in thought, moving a carrot across her plate with her fork. She couldn't really think of anything to say.
"What have you done today?"
"Well, I've been in class all day, so I guess I was learning." He saw how that seemed uninspiring, watching Santana purse her lips. "Sorry, it's just a boring day. What about you? How's the first day back? Anyone hassling you?"
"It's going well. And no, no one's hassling me. It's been very uneventful," she replied. She felt her phone buzz and dug it out of her pocket. She flicked her eyes up to Finn's quickly. "It's your mom." She opened her phone and was pleased to see she had a picture message from Carole, her daughter's face prominent on the screen. "Aww oh my god! Look! Karlie smiled!" Santana brandished her phone in Finn's face, unable to stop from grinning madly at this milestone. The corner's of Finn's mouth automatically uplifted, and he took the phone from her to get a closer look.
"She is so friggin' cute," Finn exclaimed, his own smile mirroring his daughter's, looking over it once more before handing the phone back to Santana.
"It's so weird that she's smiling; it's like she's really a little person in there or something," Santana said, reluctantly putting her phone back into her pocket.
"Pretty soon she'll be holding her head by herself and making those baby noises at us," Finn added, still not able to wipe the grin from his face.
"I know and then she'll be sitting up and playing with us, and laughing. Can you imagine when she laughs?" Santana asked excitedly, and Finn's eyes widened.
"Good god she'll be a real person then!"
"That's so scary and awesome at the same time," Santana mused, the prospect of their daughter growing and getting older a fascinating thing.
"Mom said she's doing the bottle thing okay. How're your portable bottles doing today on their break?" Finn joked, his eyes lighting up as they flicked to Santana's still swollen breasts. Santana rolled her eyes and sighed.
"They're enjoying the time off but not so much the pumping."
"All we talk about are your boobs and the baby," Finn said reflectively drinking from his carton of juice.
"Is that a bad thing?" Santana asked carefully, trying to sense where Finn was going with this.
She knew she hadn't been being the best girlfriend, since they barely had time to speak let alone anything else with everything that was going on in their lives. But how could they? They were prioritizing everything exactly right... It just turned out their relationship as a dating couple wasn't on the top of the list right now. And that was okay. Eventually things would settle down and they could work on themselves as a couple, but it just wouldn't be soon.
When she told him this, as nicely as she could, he seemed to agree, nodding his head amicably.
"I know. I still love you, you know," he said watching her very carefully. She smiled and leaned across the table, capturing his lips in a soft kiss.
"I still love you, too, you nerd," she replied with a chuckle. Just then the bell rang, and Santana sighed. "I guess I'll see you in Glee Club."
In her second to last period, Santana got a text from Carole, saying she had a hair appointment at four and was making sure that Santana would be home in time for her to leave a little early. She quickly realized that she'd forgotten to mention Glee Club to Finn's mom, which today was being held after school. Santana frowned. She had been waiting all day for Glee, and now she would probably have to miss it. Venting to Brittany via discreetly passed notes, the blonde had her own idea, approaching Santana after class as they walked to their lockers together, pinkies linked.
"Just have Mrs. Hummel bring her here. I don't think Mr. Schue would care, if it was just this one time."
Santana hemmed and hawwed over the choice for a few seconds, and eventually decided that it would just have to do. She really didn't want to miss Glee Club, at least not her first chance to actually go in a month. She was sure Mr. Schue would be okay with it. It's not like she planned on bringing Karlie every time.
"Good idea, Britt."
"I'm not only funny when you're around, I'm also super smart," Brittany said with a wink, and Santana laughed, bumping Brittany's shoulder with her own and squeezing her pinky.
"I've missed you so much, like you don't even know."
"But I do know; I can tell," Brittany replied matter of factly. Santana took it for what that was worth, and quickly texted Carole to propose her solution. Carole was fine with it, and since Finn had a study hall last period, he could leave a little earlier to get Karlie from her and then they would meet up in Glee Club. Crisis averted.
As they walked to Glee Club later on, Santana could tell Finn had already made it to the choir room from the mewling that could be clearly heard in the hallway. When they walked in, Santana could not help but laugh at the sight that met her eyes. Finn was sitting on the floor with Karlie, and she was laid out on two blankets in front of him. Mike was laying alongside her, and the baby was peering at him curiously as Mike did the same. Tina too was sitting on the floor, alongside Kurt and Mercedes. Quinn hadn't gotten there yet and Artie was off in the distance. Rachel was prepping sheet music, seeming slightly ruffled by such a distraction but Santana could tell she was trying to be a good sport.
She and Brittany walked over and Santana stooped down, lightly smoothing the hair on Karlie's head down.
"Mommy missed you! How're you, baby girl? Are you having fun with Uncle Mike?"
"I've been Jedi mind tricking her this entire time," Mike said slowly, his eyes never breaking away from the baby's. "She hasn't cried once yet because of it."
"She's probably wondering why her Uncle Mike has a creeper stare," Tina joked.
"That or she's just a happy baby," Quinn chimed in, coming into the room a few seconds after Brittany and Santana.
"You're all lucky you don't have to hear her at night. She turns into satan I'm pretty sure," Santana remarked, though she said it lovingly.
"Like mother like daughter," Mercedes joked, and everyone laughed along. Pretty soon Puck and Matt sauntered in, Puck pushing in Artie, and Mr. Schue as always was late but arrived with much excitement.
"Alright guys, we won our sectionals, and now it's time to focus on regionals. Now I've been giving this a lot of thought and I think that..." Mr. Schue trailed off as he saw what had half of his Glee Club preoccupied. Suddenly his face broke out into an even bigger grin. "Is that little Miss Hudson?"
"Certainly is," Finn said proudly, and Mr. Schue came over to squat down by the baby's blanket.
"She's beautiful, guys. But what's the occassion?" he asked, looking at Finn and Santana in turn.
"It's just this once Mr. Schue, we had a scheduling conflict..." Santana explained, trying to make it not seem like a big deal.
"Not a problem. Let's not make it a regular thing, but every once in awhile is not a big deal. Music is good for babies, but I don't want you guys to be distracted from what you need to be doing while you're here."
"Yes, Mr. Schue," Finn answered.
"Alright, let's talk about what we want to do for regionals."
"Wait, Mr. Schue, I had something I wanted to say. Well, sing. You know how it is in here," Rachel said, interrupting their teacher before he could really get started. Mr. Schue nodded, and smiled tightly.
"Of course, Rachel."
"Ladies?"
Santana should have known she wasn't going to come back to Glee without some sort of song being sung... But it didn't bother her, not in the least. She picked Karlie up and sat her in the crook of one of her bent legs so that there was room for the girls to sit down around her.
They gathered around Santana and Karlie, each girl staring adoringly at the infant, smiles glued on every face. They sat down on the floor in a small mass, huddled together, edging Mike and Finn away so that it was just the girls around the mother daughter pair. Quinn and Santana smiled lovingly at each other, and before the music cued Brittany looped her arm with Santana's, gazing down at the baby in Santana's arms. Softly Quinn started singing.
"May the angels protect you, trouble neglect you, and heaven accept you when it's time to come home."
"May you always have plenty, your glass never empty, know in your belly, you're never alone," joined in Rachel.
"May your tears come from laughing, you find friends worth having, with every year passing, they mean more than gold," came Mercedes' part. And then Tina:
"May you win, but stay humble, smile more than grumble, and know when you stumble, you're never alone."
"Never alone, never alone, I'll be in every beat of your heart as you face the unknown. Wherever you fly, this isn't goodbye. My love will follow you, stay with you, baby you're never alone." Brittany's soft falsetto surprised even herself.
"Well I have to be honest, as much as I want it, I'm not gonna promise the cold winds won't blow," Mercedes sang again.
"So when hard times have found you, and your fear surrounds you, wrap my love around you, you're never alone," Quinncouldn't help but reach out and touch the baby's hand, which instantly curled around her pinky finger.
"Never alone, never alone, I'll be in every beat of your heart when you face the unknown," Rachel again, taking Karlie's other hand in her own and kissing it gently.
"Wherever you fly, this isn't goodbye, my love will follw you, stay with you," Brittany repeated her line one last time, before all of the girls joined in on the last lyric:
"Baby you're never alone."