3 weeks later
6am
Santana sat in their white living room, her Grammy awards shining brightly behind her on the fireplace as she waited for her interview to start. "Ashton, baby, can you turn down the lights a little?"
Ashton, who helped out with the interviews his mothers were doing for TV, nodded, and dimmed a lights a little. "Better?" He asked, as Santana blinked her eyes rapidly to refocus them. She closed her eyes tightly and opened them slowly before nodding.
"Perfect, thanks." She smiled, lifting the mirror next to her and checking her make up once more. She was set to appear on Good Morning America to talk about her single that she released and her reemergence in the music scene. She had her hair in a messy bun, with minimal make up on, a simple white tshirt on with a diamond name plate that said Lopez. She looked extremely youthful and refreshed for that time of the morning, even after being down in the studio until 1am with Noah. She originally had a glam team scheduled but decided to cancel it, wanting to look more natural.
"Is momma still asleep?" Ashton asked, sitting down behind the camera. "Doesn't she usually get up for morning interviews with you?"
"Yes, she's asleep." Santana nodded with a tight smile. "I didn't want to wake her up."
"Okay, mom you're live in 5...4...3...2...1..." he counted down before pointing to her.
Santana, who had airpods in her ear nodded and smiled brightly and waved when the morning crew came into view.
"Santana Lopez, hey babe, how are you?" Robin Roberts smiled
"Good, good. How are you?: I haven't seen you in a few years, I think since that party at Ellen's house." Santana beamed.
"Yes, yes!" Robin nodded what a fun night. "You are aging backwards, you look so young this morning."
Santana blushed, "thank you."
"So, how is the family doing during quarantine and Covid, everyone healthy?"
Santana nodded quickly. "Yes, we are all healthy, thank God! We have everyone staying here with us, so it's been fun but a lot of movement and activity. Brit and I were practically empty nesters, really only Mackenzie was living with us consistently."
"All the grandkids too?" Robin laughed.
"Absolute best part." Santana beamed. "I love having all my babies so close. Noah and Madison don't live too far from us in general, but being able to go grab one and snuggle is just...ugh. I know Brittany loves having them around as well."
"How is Brittany doing with Covid, she's high risk, right?" Robin inquired.
Santana nodded quickly. "Yes she is, it's so nervewrecking to me, I worry so much and I'm constantly making everyone wash their hands, the kids aren't really allowed to our wing of the house, we are doing everything we need to, making sure she's completely safe. I've always said that Brittany is the strongest person I know, she truly truly is. She doesn't complain about having Lupus, she doesn't complain when she's in pain. It's so amazing. I know she's nervous too, but she remains calm always, and gives me the freedom to worry and go crazy."
Robin smiled, "well she's is definitely in our prayers." She added. "So, you put out a new single last week, shockingly, titled Wonder What She Thinks Of Me. The song went number 1 in a matter of hours. Where did that come from?"
Santana laughed, "Noah had me meet him in the studio one evening to help him with a song, I think I was going to help him with lyrics, but he had written me a song and the rest is truly history. Noah has helped me write some of my biggest hits, and we create magic when we are together."
"You've always raved about working with Noah, what is the experience like now, what about this session made you come out of retirement?" Robin asked.
Santana shrugged. "I can't explain it, it was just one of those moments, as soon as the song was done, I knew it was meant for me to hit the stage again." She tried to explain. "Even though I am coming out of retirement, it's only partially. I won't be touring, or doing any concerts, I love music, I love singing...it's no secret that I battle with anxiety and music keeps me sane. Singing is apart of me, I retired because of health reasons, not by choice. Working with Noah is so surreal, he was just a little guy when i started my music career, I took him everywhere with me, not really wanting to leave him with a sitter too often, to have him now working side by side with me...it's a feeling I can't explain, especially since none of the other kids take music too seriously. Carter can play a number or instruments and has rapped on a few songs, bu he's not interested in a music career at all."
"So, how is your voice?"
"Good, the surgery was successful, I've been resting my vocal cords, only singing for my grandbabies, and of course Brittany, I think I'm ready to share with the rest of the world." Santana blushed.
"Well, we can't wait, good to talk to you as always, give Brittany our love." Robin replied, as a picture of Santana's cover art for her new song appeared on the screen.
Ashton took the picture for her, she was dressed in a long black evening gown, she laid in their bathtub, an old fashioned claw tub. She was leaning her head back, her arms resting gentling on the sides of the tub adorned in a number of diamond bracelets, and her hair cascading in loose curls to the floor. It was a black and white picture with a soft spotlight on her.
"Okay, you're off mom." Ashton smiled.
"Thanks, honey." Santana nodded, standing up and stretching. "I'll be using you for a music video, probably in the next couple of weeks, I'll pay you what I typically pay directors and videographers."
Ashton's eyes widened quickly, "whoa...you don't have to pay me that much, mom."
"You'll earn it." She winked as she walked out of the room and headed to her wing of the house.
Brittany turned off the TV after watching Santana's interview and picked up her iPad, she was reading over emails and taking notes when Santana walked in. "Hey, you looked gorgeous on GMA." She smiled.
Santana raised an eyebrow, "hey, good morning." She stated, walking to Brittany's side of the bed and pressing their lips together gently. "Thank you, baby." She sat on the bed, lifting Brittany's legs across her lap, absentmindedly rubbing them. "I thought you were still asleep."
"No, I would never miss an interview of yours." Brittany shook her head.
"Oh, thanks for watching." Santana smiled.
"You're welcome, feel like making breakfast with me?" Brittany asked, swinging her legs off of her wife's and standing up, bending over to touch her toes while stretching, Santana licking her lips and staring at her wife, watching her muscles flex underneath the thin tshirt she slept in. They two hadn't been intimate in weeks, both a little awkward around each other, but insisting on leaving the elephant in the room. They would cuddle together at night and fall asleep in each other's arms, but nothing more. Conversation between the two was minimal, and extremely strained, but still cordial and pleasant.
"Sure." Santana nodded, standing up and bracing Brittany's hips as she stood back up, the blonde momentarily relaxing in her wife's grip before walking to the bathroom.
"I'm going to rinse off, can you get started?" Brittany said over her shoulder before closing the bathroom door, leaning her head against the door before turning on the shower.
"Whew..." Santana exhaled before heading downstairs to the kitchen, she noticed Madison was fast asleep in a recliner in the family room, Hendrix on her chest, softly sucking on a pacifier, her locked eyes with Santana and began to smile brightly, spitting his pacifier out. "Hey you." She said softly, walking over and picking him up, kissing all over his face. Madison immediately waking up, "go back to sleep, I got him." She told her daughter in law, grabbing a throw from the side of the sofa and tossing it on her. She leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, before heading to the kitchen.
"Good morning, cutie." She told Hendrix, rubbing his back as he cuddled into her chest.
"Lee." He mumbled softly.
"Yes, honey?" She replied as she balanced him on her hip and grabbed two cartons of eggs out of the fridge, setting them on the counter. She began to softly sing twinkle twinkle as she pulled out more ingredients, Hendrix holding on to her shirt tightly, staring at her actions, occasionally babbling in reply to her.
Santana was skillfully cracking eggs open with one hand when Brittany walked in the kitchen, "how did this happen?" She asked with a smile, kissing Hendrix, who was now fast asleep, on the forehead.
"I grabbed him from Madison, she was asleep and I didn't want him to squirm too much." Santana replied. "Is he asleep?" Brittany nodded. "Okay, I'm going to lay him down, quick. Ummm, I have the eggs, I was thinking some salmon..." She trailed off as she walked to the living room, and woke Madison up enough to have her move to the couch, laying Hendrix down in front of her, and grabbing one of the pillow barriers from the side of the couch.
"I was gong to make the salmon for dinner." Brittany stated when Santana came back in kitchen. "I'll do pancakes, and we have some bacon and chicken sausage."
"Okay..." Santana shrugged.
They began cooking in a comfortable silence, before beginning to make idle conversation about the weather, planning to take Cinderella on a walk with Pierce later that afternoon. Santana planning on having the boys do some yard work, since they didn't have their landscaping service come. "So, I guess I'm out of retirement too, I wrote up some video treatments for you, and I'll start working on choreography tomorrow."
Santana glanced up at her wife, taking a sip of the apple juice she poured a few moments earlier. "That's how you break the ice about the song? Do you even like the song, you haven't said anything about it. I recorded it three weeks ago, aside from your dry ass Instagram post and story about it, you haven't said a word."
"Oh...now you want my opinion?" Brittany scoffed. "Let's just keep this as a professional, business transaction. I emailed you and your manager the invoice, and we can go over the treatment ideas in bed tonight, like normal. After you pick, I'll start the choreography tomorrow, keeping in mind your conditioning isn't up to par more than likely."
Santana stared at her and nodded. "If that's how you want to play this Pierce, fine."
"Play, what?" Brittany asked, crossing her arms over and chest and glaring at her wife. "You not only recorded a song, but came out of retirement and announced a new album, without a word to me about it. I found out on Instagram like I was a fan or an employee."
"It's happened so quickly, and you were asleep when I came upstairs that night." Santana replied.
"That's your reply? Grow up Santana, you are still the same selfish ass teenager at heart." Brittany spit out.
Santana bit her tongue harshly as her eyes began to water, and nodded. "You're right, you are absolutely right. I'm a selfish bitch, I want my career back, and I got it." She nodded before smirking. She took a deep breath before exhaling slowly and walking back to the stove.
2am
Brittany rolled over in bed, and reached out for Santana, out of habit. She was shocked when she was met with an empty bed, causing her to open her eyes, she sat up slowly and rubbed her face since Santana was definitely in bed with her when she fell asleep. "Where is she?" Putting on a sweatshirt when she got out of bed, she checked the bathroom before making her way down to the second level of their bedroom, and not finding her there. She checked Mackenzie's room, the guest rooms, the family room, her office, the movie theater, and finally the studio, where Santana was leaning forward on the master board, fast sleep, snoring softly.
Brittany took the headphones off of her head and set them down carefully, staring at the computer screen, she initially moved to save the project, but didn't know what part of the song Santana was working on and didn't want to mess anything up, so she rubbed her back to wake her up. "Sanny, come on up to bed, baby."
Santana cleared her throat as she woke up, locking eyes with Brittany. "Sorry, what time is it?" She asked, wiping her mouth before flipping her hair to the back.
"A little after 2am." Brittany replied. "Do you need to save anything, or were you just writing?"
Santana, who appeared disoriented, looked around slowly before shaking her head, "ummm, no I was just listening to beats and writing." She stood up and wobbled slightly, Brittany immediately bracing her hips.
"Are you feeling okay?" Brittany asked her quickly.
"I'm a little dizzy, for some reason, probably just stood up too fast." Santana said quietly.
Brittany nodded while looking her up and down, not entirely convinced, but watched Santana log off of computers and shut down equipment before accepting Brittany's hand and following her up to the bedroom. Santana, who was already in pajamas, laid down right away while Brittany walked to the bathroom and wet a towel with cold water and dabbed the back of her neck.
"It's starting already." Brittany stated.
"What?"
"You over working yourself, and pushing yourself. You don't have anything to prove to anyone." Brittany added. "Now is not the time for you to stress yourself out, get your anxiety all out of wack, and end up in the hospital." Santana didn't respond, so Brittany continued to talk. "You're going to do this no matter how I feel about it, but please don't take it so far that you make yourself sick."
"I know you're worried, but it'll be fine." Santana rolled over and faced her before sitting up. "Trust me."
"Its hard to trust you with this when you didnt even bother to run this past me, i specifically asked you were you coming out of retirement, and you said no. What changed? What happened that suddenly, that split of a second that you couldnt come upstairs and mention it to me? I'm not saying you need my permission, but dammit Santana...this is major." Brittany asked. "I'm worried about your throat, I know you're healed and your doctor did give you clearance but..."
Santana sat up, and nodded. "Okay, let's talk." She moved to sit Indian style in front of Brittany, patting the bed in front of her, encouraging Brittany to mimic her. When Brittany was in place, Santana reached out and grabbed her hands. "I'm sorry." She stated right away. "I should have told you, and you shouldnt have found out from the internet. Singing always has been my passion, you know that. I planned on just helping Noah with his lyrics, and one thing led to another, and I recorded the song. I miss singing, I truly miss it. Part of reason I retired was the strain that performing was putting on my vocal cords. I just want to make music, I don't want to tour, or anything...I just want to make music."
Brittany stared at her before softening her face. "I know you miss it, baby, I'm just worried."
"I know, but it'll be completely different this time." Santana assured her.
"No touring."
"None." Santana shook her head.
"No concerts."
"None." Santana shook her head again. "But, if something does change I will absolutely come to you first."
"I want you to have set hours, none of this 2am and falling asleep in the studio business, you're 50 years old." Brittany stated. "Fabulous, but fifty." She added when Santana made a face.
"I'll be be in bed by midnight every night." Santana stated firmly.
"Music videos?" Brittany asked.
Santana exhaled. "I do want to do music videos for my songs, but not a lot of heavy choreography at all."
"Okay."
"Okay?" Santana questioned.
"All I wanted was to be included in the thought process, we are married, and I know how passionate you are about your career, and how hard it was for you to step away, but I want you to take it slow and make sure you don't over exert yourself." Brittany told her.
"Okay, I really am sorry, Brittany, it all happened so quickly." Santana said sincerely, making sure to look right in Brittany's eyes.
Brittany nodded before leaning forward and kissing Santana softly on the forehead. "Let's get some sleep, and we can talk more about this in the morning."
"Okay, but there is one more thing I want to run by you." Santana stated. "I want to remain an independent artist, and actually start my own record label, our own record label."
Brittany raised an eyebrow, "really? I know you were thinking of doing a management company, but you want a full record label?"
"Yes, I want to do both, it'll be duo contracts with people, but I really think we can make this work. It'll be a family thing, Noah can be an in house songwriter, we both can A & Rs, I really think we can do this."
Brittany thought for a moment. "I'm in."
"Really?" Santana asked excitedly.
"Really." Brittany nodded.
Santana leaned forward and hugged her tightly, allowing Brittany to press their lips together. The two then laid down, Brittany hugging Santana tightly from behind, peppering kisses to the back of her neck before the two drifted to sleep.
"Well, two less little ones in the house." Santana sighed as she waved goodbye from the door to Danielle and JJ, who were going to quarantine with Jackson for a few weeks. Aubrey, who was closer to Hannah, wanted to stay her mom and Aunt Sanny, was going to remain at the Lopez-Pierce estate. "Will you miss your big sister and little brother?" She asked Aubrey, who was standing next to her, holding her leg.
Aubrey looked up at her and nodded quickly. "My mommy still here."
"Yes, she is." Santana nodded, "she took Grammy to a doctor appointment, then she'll be back."
Aubrey nodded, "okay. We color now Aunt Sanny?"
"Absolutely." Santana bent down and picked her up, kissing her on the cheek as they walked through the long foyer and set her on the couch in the family room. Santana went to the chest that was over to the side and pulled out a stack of coloring books, with the large container they had markers in. Aubrey smiled excitedly and quickly sat down at the coffee table, flipping through to find the perfect page to color.
"I'll make us a snack, okay?" Santana told her as Cinderella came running in the room and laid down.
Santana was in the kitchen making popcorn when Brittany walked in from the garden, "hey, getting ready to watch a movie?" She asked, kicking off her sneakers to leave by the door.
"No, this is for Bree, she's coloring in the family room." Santana yawned.
"Tired?" Brittany asked, grabbing a small bottle of apple juice out for herself, and a juice box for Aubrey.
"A little." Santana shrugged, "more bored than tired I think."
"Go lay down, Aubrey doesn't need you to play with her, she just wants to be around you." Brittany reminded her.
"I know." Santana nodded as Mackenzie came in the kitchen.
"I need to pick up my birth control, which car can I use?" Mackenzie asked.
Santana stared at her and rolled her eyes slightly. "Brit..."
Brittany sighed, knowing that Santana didn't let the kids use any of her cars, Brittany would let the kids use her Jeep, or they would use the family BMW, that they allowed out of town guests that stayed with them to use.
"I can drive you." Brittany suggested.
"Or I can drive, I need to get out this house...see some people other than you two..."
Santana frowned. "You don't like looking at me?" Brittany laughed softly at her wife when she smiled brightly.
Mackenzie rolled her eyes, "other than you two, my brothers, and my nieces and nephews."
Santana locked eyes with Brittany, the two having a silent conversation before Santana nodded, Brittany walked over to the drawer where they kept the car keys and gate remotes, she typed in the code on the keypad. She pulled out the keys to the jeep and extended her hand to her daughter. "Do we need anything from the store, Sanny?"
"Ummmm, get my babies some fruit snacks, pick up some toilet paper, if you can find it, and I think that's it." Santana replied, moving the pot on the stove so the kernels all cooked evenly. "Go there and come straight back, straight back. Do not take your mask off for any reason."
"If I had my own car..."
"But you don't." Santana smiled and shrugged.
"Hurry back, Mack." Brittany told her.
Mackenzie who was dressed in a black Nike dri-fit jogging suit and a pair of black and white Nike blazers on her feet, turned on her heels quickly and left the kitchen, mumbling under her breath.
"What are we doing to do about this, babe?" Brittany asked, watching Santana pour the popcorn into a big bowl, sprinkling salt on top as she shook the bowl.
"About what?" Santana asked, tossing a handful in her mouth before adding butter topping.
"Getting Mackenzie a car."
Santana laughed loudly, "are you serious, she is lucky I'm letting her leave the damn house, let alone use our cars."
"Sanny."
"Brittany, no, I just...I don't think she's earned a car yet." Santana replied. "I'm not like putting my foot down or anything, just saying I'm not ready to buy her one, but if you want to talk about this more, we can."
"We can talk later in bed." Brittany nodded, walking over to her and kissing her on the cheek. "I need to watch some footage and for work, I'll see you later."
"Okay, I'm going to lay down with Bree, probably." Santana nodded.