Santana was just putting the finishing touches to her makeup when her phone started to ring. She put the mascara wand back into the tube, before placing it down to pick up the phone, checking the caller ID before answering. It was Puck.
"Hey" she said simply, continuing to check herself in the reflection.
"Is she ready?" Puck asked, causing Santana to roll her eyes. He was having Mila for the night, and as per usual, they didn't know whether they were coming or going with him. He was meant to have her for the full weekend, but in typical Puck fashion, he'd cancelled the night before and said he'd just have her for the Saturday instead. Of course he hadn't given a time to pick her up though, now here he was asking is she was ready to go.
"Dressed for the day and ready to leave the house? Yes. Ready and sat waiting for you? No, considering you didn't give us a time that you were coming. What do you expert her to do Puck, sit by the door all day until you turn up at an unannounced time? I don't think so…" Santana scoffed.
"That's why I'm calling to check, and to let you know what time I'll be there!" Puck responded in a sarcastic and slightly raised tone "I'm leaving to pick her up in 10 minutes, so I'll be there in 30. Just have her ready yeah? I've got places to be, I don't have time to be sitting around waiting today."
Santana scoffed again. The irony of this man talking about "sitting around and waiting" when he was never made to wait, in fact it was always Mila who had to wait around for him, and have him cancel on her constantly. He was becoming more and more unpredictable and even though Santana had always tried to remain on good terms with him for Mila's sake, things were becoming evidently more strained between them. Santana would never let Mila know that though, in front of her, she was always extra-friendly and enthusiastic.
"Oh I'm sorry, wouldn't want to keep you from your places to be." Santana responded, in a tone that was even more sarcastic than the one Puck had just given her. "She'll be ready, like she always is. I'm leaving to go out for lunch now, Brittany will be handing her over, she lives with us now."
"Since when?"
"Erm…since when was that any of your business?"
"Well considering she's living with my daughter, I think that makes it my business, don't you?"
Santana began to laugh, though there wasn't a hint of humour in it.
"Don't even try it Noah."
She knew that Puck had no problem with Brittany and probably didn't really care that she had moved in, but it never failed to amuse her how Puck would try use his rights to assert his dominance at times. She figured it was because Puck knew that he was a deadbeat dad, and that Mila was probably starting to realise that as she grew to an adolescent with views of her own, causing her to drift apart from him.
Santana had witnessed Mila's reluctance to visit her father growing over the past year, so surely Puck was seeing it too, and he was using his rights to hold on to what little relationship they had.
"Mila will be ready in 30 minutes, so don't be late. You have Brit's number if there's any problems." Santana said simply, before hanging up the phone.
She checked herself in the reflection one last time before grabbing her things and heading downstairs to the living room, where Brittany and Mila were watching TV together, laughing in sync in a way that made Santana's heart squeeze.
"Hi my girlies, having fun?" She asked.
Mila nodded, too enamoured by what she was watching to properly acknowledge her mother, but Brittany turned and met Santana's eyes.
"We sure are." She said, before looking up and down to take her girlfriend's appearance in "You look pretty, babe."
Santana smiled appreciatively before walking over to kiss Brittany's waiting lips. She then ruffled Mila's hair, something she was sure she'd never be able to stop doing, even as Mila grew up.
"You need to get your stuff together baby, dad will be here in 30 minutes."
Mila sighed, as Brittany and Santana shared a look, it was no secret that Mila was "growing out" of these visits with her dad.
"I'm sure you'll have lots of fun when you get there, Moo." Said Brittany, smoothing her long dark hair back into place, from where Santana had previously mussed it.
"I guess?" Mila shrugged.
"Come on." Santana encouraged, pulling Mila gently off the couch "Go pick out what you want to take with you and I'll be up in a minute."
They watched Mila go before Santana turned back to Brittany.
"I told Puck you'd be handing Mila over because I've got to leave in 5 minutes to get there in time to meet Quinn. Is that okay with you?"
"Sure, you get going! I can handle it from here."
"Okay well you have his number. If he's any longer than 10 minutes late, call him or call me and I'll give him what for, because I'm sick of having him demanding that Mila is ready at a certain time, only for him to turn up late or cancel at the last minute. It's not good for her you know, Britt? I can see that she hates going and who can blame her when he makes such little effort with her. Sure she pouts a little now, but I can still manage to get her to go without too much fuss. I'm not sure it's going to be so easy when she's a teenager."
"Well like I said, when that time comes, we'll deal with it together." Said Brittany, before leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on Santana's lips.
The Latina smiled. Her girlfriend always managed to calm her down.
"Okay, well I better go and say bye to Mila before I get going. You sure you're not going to be too bored hanging out here all day by yourself?"
"San, I'll be fine." Brittany laughed "I'm gonna clean the house and catch up on some laundry, and then I'm thinking tonight, since we have the house to ourselves…"
"I like your thinking, baby." Santana eyes glistened, as she leaned in for one last kiss before heading upstairs to Mila.
Brittany smiled a sympathetic smile at the 11-year-old sitting on the staircase, ready to go, just like her dad had instructed. Puck was late and Mila rest her chin on her hands, looking extremely fed up. As she sighed and rolled her eyes, Brittany couldn't help but admire the resemblance to Santana, and how she looked more like her every day. She checked her watch for what felt like the 15th time. He was pushing past the 20 minute mark. Santana had told her to call after 10, but Brittany was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and keep things calm.
"He's not coming, Aunty Brit." Mila cut in.
"Let's just give him five more minutes. He might just be stuck in traffic. Five more minutes and I'll give him a call, okay?"
But 5 minutes came and went and there was still no sign of him, so Brittany pulled out her cell to give Puck a call, walking into the kitchen so she was out of earshot of Mila. She wasn't even expecting an answer, which put her in a slight predicament, because she didn't want to have to call Santana and ruin her time with Quinn. She knew Santana wasn't going to take the news well. She figured if Puck didn't answer then she'd deal with it herself, even if it meant showing up on his doorstep and demanding to know what he was playing at. She might not go as Lima Heights as Santana would, but seeing Mila messed around like this, was enough to evoke a fury in her.
To Brittany's surprise, Puck answered on the second ring, speaking before Brittany even chance to register that he'd picked up.
"Yeah Brittany- hi sorry, I'm not going to be able to have Mila this weekend anymore, something's come up."
"Something's come up?" Brittany repeated, her lips tightening to a thin line.
"Yeah, sorry. Look, tell Santana I'll have her next weekend instead."
"And that's how it works is it?" Brittany scoffed "No phone call to let us know, no warning, no justifiable reason as to why you're not sticking to your custody agreement and having your daughter as planned. Just a 'something's come up' and a demand to change the plans around once again."
"Well if I remember right, Santana wanted sole custody of her, so why all the fuss? I thought you'd want her there as much as possible but now she's shacked up with you, I guess not."
"Oh we do want Mila as much as possible, make no mistake about that. We'd have her here full time if we could, this isn't about that. It's the fact that you have no responsibility when it comes to your child. You're over here barking orders, because God forbid you arrive to pick her up and she isn't ready on time, but it's okay for you to constantly be late? Or worse- just to cancel altogether. This is the second time this weekend we'll have to let Mila know you're not coming as planned. You just come and go as you please Puck, meanwhile Santana and I are the ones picking up the pieces."
"I'm not having you make out like I'm some shitty dad. I pay my child support don't I? And who are you anyway? She's not even your kid. What do you contribute towards her?"
Brittany scoffed once again.
"More than you'll ever know Puck, but this isn't about money. It's about showing up when your child needs you. She's not 6 years old anymore. You can't just fob her off with lies and excuses, she knows what's going on, and she's at an age where she's starting to question her importance to you. You never prioritize her, and she knows that, and Santana and I can only reassure her so much that you love her. She see's it with her own eyes, she's not stupid. And I'm not saying you don't love her, because I'm sure you do, but I'm saying you need to start showing her."
By the end of her rant, Brittany felt slightly relieved to get everything off her chest. She hadn't realised just how seething she was until now, and she just hoped her words would get through to Puck.
"We done?"
Brittany gritted her teeth. Unfortunately her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.
"Yeah. We're done."
"Tell Santana to let me know about next wee…"
Brittany cut him off before he finished. Her concern wasn't on shuffling plans about to accommodate Puck, it was on Mila, and making sure she wasn't upset about all this. She walked back into the hallway where the little girl was waiting and forced a smile on her face to curve her anger.
"Okay honey, so it looks like there's a slight change of plan. Your dad can't make it this weekend, but he's going to speak to your Mama about having you next weekend instead, if that's what you want."
She bit her lip as she awaited Mila's response. She had tried to sugar coat it as much as possible, but without lying or making false excuses for Puck. She would never lie to Mila, because to lie to her was to believe her to be naive or even stupid, and Mila certainly wasn't that.
"Figures." Mila rolled her eyes once more and turned away, and Brittany spotted her defence mechanism come up instantly. It was the same one she had seen in Santana so many times, but equally it was also something she knew how to break through.
She bent down to Mila's level and placed a hand on her knee.
"Hey, sweetheart? This is a good thing right? It means you and I get to spend the best day together. We can do whatever you want to do, my treat."
Brittany was relieved when Mila turned back to look at her, but she wasn't anticipating the vulnerability to follow.
"Aunty Brit…does my dad love me?"
Brittany swallowed as she looked into sad brown eyes. She was glad Mila had asked her this question over Santana, because she knew it would really hurt her girlfriend to think that Mila had these thoughts.
"Oh Moo, of course he does! Why would you think that?"
She instantly cursed herself for asking the question. Why wouldn't Mila think that. Puck's actions weren't the actions of a dad that loved his daughter.
Brittany watched as Mila bit her lip, a tell-tale sign she had something to say, but didn't know how to say it. She rubbed Mila's arm encouragingly, letting her know she could say whatever she needed to.
"It just…doesn't seem like he does anymore. Everything is different now."
Brittany took Mila into a hug and placed a kiss on top of her head. Just as she and Santana had suspected, Mila had noticed a decline in Puck's interest in her, her age undoubtedly making her more aware of it too.
"Listen Moo, I know that your dad lets you down a lot, believe me that angers your Mama and I more than you know. But I'm sure he loves you in his own way sweetheart. And more importantly, I want you to know that you have so much love around you. You are the centre of mine and Mama's world, and you have so many people around you that love you so much. You know that right?"
Brittany felt Mila nod against her chest.
"I wish you and Mama were girlfriends back in high school, and you had me together without him. You would be a much better dad than him."
Brittany swallowed the lump in her throat, touched by the statement. She had always felt like Mila could be hers but she never knew how Mila felt in return. She knew Mila was aware that two women couldn't biologically make a baby, that wasn't what she was trying to say. She was effectively saying that she wished Brittany had brought her up with Santana, and that she was the second parental figure in her life, as opposed to Puck.
"Well you know I can be whatever you want me to be in your life, Moo. It doesn't matter how you came into the world, because you were born right here in my heart."
"I love you, Aunty B."
"I love you too, baby girl. We'll speak to your dad okay?"
"Maybe I should just stop going." Mila shrugged.
Brittany knew it was a little more complicated than that, what with Puck's custody agreement, but she'd speak to Santana about it later. For now, her focus was on making sure Mila had a good day, and to take her mind off things.
"How about you take your bag upstairs, and then you decide what you want to do for the day. Anything you want to do, my treat."
"There is one thing I really want to do."
"Mm-hm?"
"Go get my ears pierced?" Mila asked hopefully.
Suddenly Brittany felt bad for saying Mila could pick anything. She wasn't sure how Santana would feel about this.
"Oh Moo, I'm not sure about that. I think that's something Mama would like to be there for."
Brittany watched Mila's head drop, and felt instantly bad, but she was determined to cheer the little girl up.
"How about we go shopping though? We can pick out some new clothes and then get the biggest ice cream afterwards, with all the sprinkles. How does that sound?"
Mila didn't look entirely convinced, but she nodded her head anyway.
"Okay, go take your bag upstairs, I'm just going to give your Mama a quick call, and then we'll get going."
She waited for Mila to disappear out of view before making the call to Santana, and relaying everything to her. As expected, Santana was pissed, but Brittany calmed her and told her not to let it ruin her lunch. She had everything under control and was going to make sure Mila had a good day, in spite of her dad's lackadaisical attitude.
"So what are you guys going to get up to?" Santana asked.
"Well I'm going to take her shopping, then for ice cream, unless she suggest something else. The only one thing she wanted to do was to get her ears pierced, but I told her no. I figure that's something you want to be there for, if and when you finally let her get them done."
Santana paused and thought it through for a moment.
"You know what, Brit? If that's what she wants to do, then why don't you take her? I need to accept she's growing up and this is something she's wanted for a while now. And sure I'd like to be there but I've been there for every milestone, whereas you've had to miss some, or see them through a video or FaceTime. You take her. It'll be a special bonding moment for the two of you."
Brittany again felt touched at Santana's words surrounding her relationship with Mila.
"Are you sure? We could just go tomorrow instead, or later on when you're back from lunch?"
"I'm sure. Besides I know what she's like when she's got something in her head. She'll have a face on all day, and I don't want you dealing with that." Santana laughed "So just go take her. It'll make her happy. As long as that's okay with you though, because I know you're not great with needles?"
"It'll be fine, I think at Claire's they just use a gun anyway. I can handle that. We can always look around the shops and get ice cream first and when you're finished with lunch, you can come join us? Maybe you'll make it before we go get them done."
"Sounds like a plan, babe. On that note, I better get going. Have fun, and I'll call you when I'm done."
"Okay, love you!"
"I love you too."
After exchanging their goodbyes Santana focused her attention back on Quinn, apologising for interrupting their lunch.
"Everything okay?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah it's just Puck up to his usual tricks of letting Mila down." Santana sighed "I won't go into it though. I just want us to have a good time, I'll worry about him later."
Taking the cue to drop the subject, Quinn focused her attention on Santana's right hand, admiring the new shiny edition to her fourth finger. She gasped as she picked Santana's hand up to inspect it further.
"This is beautiful! Did Brit get you this?"
Santana's mouth instantly curved into a smile as she nodded.
"For my birthday."
"Your girl has some taste! Cartier, huh?"
Santana nodded again, blushing slightly. She couldn't help but gush about the moment that was still firmly planted in her head.
"It's a promise ring. She had the most beautiful speech prepared when she gave me it, it was perfect. For a second, I thought she was actually proposing."
"And would you have said yes if she did?"
"Without a shadow of a doubt."
Quinn squeezed Santana's hand excitedly, having still been holding it from admiring the ring, before dropping it to take a sip of her mocktail.
"Who would have thought it this time last year? Me with a baby on the way, and you all loved up like this. It really just goes to show life can change in an instant."
"I know. Crazy." Santana nodded.
"You think you and Brit will have more kids?"
"When the time's right, definitely. I've always wanted more than one, and I know Brit yearns for it. It would just complete our family really."
"Who do you think would carry the baby?" Quinn asked, before adding "Sorry, I hope I'm not overstepping here. You don't have to share this with me if you don't want. I was just wondering if you'd discussed all that."
"Quinn it's fine, you're my best friend. We have discussed it, just loosely though. Brit would carry the next one I think. I know how much she wants to carry to term, and I think it would give her a little bit of healing on everything with the baby she lost. But I guess we don't know for sure how things will be, so if for some reason she couldn't carry, I would. I mean I could even carry her egg, but it's not about that. I know she'd love the baby regardless of biology and genetics, it's more just the fact that she wants to experience a positive pregnancy, more than anything. So that's our first hope. I'd like to experience pregnancy again too, since I never got to enjoy Mila's, what with me thinking I was giving her up. But I want it for Brit more than anything, and for her to have that experience. Ultimately, I know we'd both be happy with a healthy baby together though, and who knows maybe we'll have more than one. It's all in the future. For now, we have this little one to spoil!" said Santana, gesturing towards Quinn's non-existent bump.
"Well I'm glad the future is looking promising for you. Alongside this little one, you two finally getting together has to be the best thing to come out of 2020."
"Cheers to that!" said Santana, clinking the wine that Quinn had insisted she had, against Quinn's mocktail.
Brittany juggled various shopping bags as she and Mila walked through the mall, she was glad to see a smile on the little girls face, who was now happy in the knowledge she was going to be getting her ears pierced after all. She didn't even seem slightly nervous about it.
"Okay Moo, where to next?" Brittany asked, but before she had a chance to respond, she heard a familiar voice.
"Brittany?"
The blonde span around, startled, instinctively hugging Mila closer to her. She wasn't sure if it was protective or if she just needed Mila for comfort, but either way, Mila obliged and sank into her.
"Mom." Brittany swallowed. She really wasn't sure how to react considering she hadn't seen her in 7 weeks. The day that she had effectively shunned Brittany's sexuality, happiness and love for Santana.
It looked as though Whitney was in the same predicament, and she could barely meet her daughter's eyes, so she instead focused on the little girl.
"Hi Mila, how are you doing darling?"
At this, Brittany hugged Mila even tighter into her. She wasn't sure why, because Whitney was always so nice to Mila, but it felt almost subconscious for Brittany to protect her from her mother's narrow mindedness. Luckily Mila didn't seem to pick up on any of the tension.
"I'm doing great thank you! Aunty Brit is taking me to get my ears pierced!"
"Wow, my goodness! That is a big deal." Whitney enthused, before turning her attention back to Brittany. "It seems like only yesterday I was taking you for your ears pierced. We always did love our mommy-daughter days out, didn't we?"
Confused by Whitney's attempt at sentimentality after their time not speaking, Brittany couldn't help but give her the cold shoulder. She wasn't going to let her mom just brush this under the carpet and not even acknowledge all the hurtful things she had said.
"Yeah, well that was a long time ago."
Feeling the awkward tension swirling around them and with Mila undoubtedly catching on, Brittany was about to leave when her mom addressed her again.
"I didn't know you were here visiting. You should have said…"
Brittany couldn't help but scoff at that. Firstly at the fact her mom expected her to reach out to her and let her know she was visiting after everything that had happened, and secondly at the irony of her not knowing that actually, she lived here now.
"Aunty Brit lives with us now!" Mila piped up happily.
Well, that solves that problem, Brittany mused.
"Oh." Whitney said, looking lost for words.
Unable to bear the tension much longer, Brittany looked down to Mila, switching her tone to one that was a lot lighter.
"Right! Shall we get going then Moo?"
"Brittany wait!"
Brittany looked at her mom, who's eyes mirrored her own but were a lot more crinkled around the side. A sign that her mom was getting older. She didn't want to fight like this. And Brittany was no stranger to forgiveness. If her mom was about to apologise, she knew she'd be able to forgive her.
"Are you sure you're doing the right thing with all of this?" She hissed quietly.
Brittany took a sharp intake of breath. She really wasn't expecting that. She genuinely had thought her mom was about to apologise, but instead, her motives had been questioned once more and it all felt like one huge slap in the face. She didn't even know what to say to her because she was so hurt.
She was broken out of her daze by her phone vibrating. It was Santana, and it was a much needed distraction.
"Goodbye mom." Brittany smiled sadly, before taking Mila's hand and leading her away, quickly answering her phone before it went off "Baby, hi! Where are you?"
She hoped that her mom might have heard the obvious switch to happiness in her tone as she spoke to her girlfriend, because that should answer Whitney's question for her, but right now she wasn't going to focus on this any longer. Instead she listened to her girlfriend and led Mila through the mall and pushed her family issues to the back of her mind.
"No she hasn't had them done yet, you're just in time!" Brittany spoke through the phone, after Santana had called to say she had finished with Quinn and could come and meet up with them. "We'll wait for you to get here and then we can do it together. Okay babe, see you in 15!"
15 minutes later Santana arrived and gave Brittany a kiss and Mila a ruffle of the hair, signature greetings for both of them. She really didn't mind if Brittany had taken Mila for her ears piercing, but she was equally glad she had made it on time, so they could all do it together.
"Ready Moo?" She asked.
"Ready!" Mila nodded excitedly.
And the three of them headed off hand in hand towards Claire's, Mila in the middle skipping happily. There were no sign of nerves yet as she picked out earrings with the shop assistant upon arrival. With Mila distracted by all of the choice, Santana turned to her girlfriend, observing that something seemed a little off with her.
"Are you okay baby? You seem a little quiet" she asked, squeezing Brittany's hand.
"I'm fine San, don't worry. I'll tell you when we get home."
Santana gave Brittany's hand another squeeze and a soft smile. She hoped it was nothing too major, but she knew Brittany would stick to her word and tell her whatever was bothering her as soon as they were home. They were at a point now where they were getting really good at communicating with each other. She didn't have chance to ponder on it too long because Mila was now in the chair and starting to get nervous.
"Does it hurt?"
Santana instantly recognised the panic in her daughters voice and it made her want to run out of there with her and protect her from anything that scared her, even though this was something Mila wanted to do. Brittany, ever the rational one, stepped forward to take Mila's hand.
"I'm not going to lie, it hurts a tiny bit when they do it, but then it stops."
As Mila looked up to Santana for more comfort, she pulled herself together, taking Mila's other hand.
"And then you've got beautiful earrings in. It's just a second of pain, and then you have them done forever."
"How much does it hurt?"
"It's just like a pinch, honey. Nowhere near as bad as the pain you've just had with your ankle." Brittany answered.
"I'm scared." Mila admitted, her eyes beginning to water as she bit her lip, a tell tale sign that she was getting stressed which filled Santana with stress herself.
"Baby if you don't want to do it, you don't have to. You have to be 100% about this. We can still turn around now. But Aunty Brit is right, it's just a small pinch and then it's over with."
"I want to get them done, I just don't want it to hurt."
"Well it only hurts for a couple of seconds." Brittany said softly, tickling her fingers against Mila's unpierced lobes.
"Promise?" She looked between them both.
"Promise." Brittany and Santana replied in unison.
They each held on to one of Mila's hands as she was set up to be pierced, Santana checking vigorously that the dots they had drawn on in place of where the earrings would be, were equal. Once they had confirmed they were happy, two shop assistants stood at either side of Mila ready to do both piercings at once. Seeing Mila so nervous was really getting to Santana, and Brittany knew it, so she held out her other hand to squeeze Santana's also.
"Okay…ready. 1,2,3." The shop assistants clicked the piercing guns, and Mila scrunched her eyes shut. "Okay all done! Great job. You officially have your ears pierced!" the shorter of the two assistants exclaimed.
The shock and the build up got to Mila and she began to cry, and Santana instinctively rushed forwards to hug her.
"You did it Moo! You're all done! I'm so proud of you."
As Mila began to calm down, one of the shop assistants brought over a mirror so she could admire her newly-pierced ears, while Santana assured the other assistant that her daughter was okay and that they were grateful. She figured it can't have been a nice job to do something that instantly made kids cry afterwards, no matter how happy and excited they were deep down.
"I think she just got herself a bit worked up that's all." Santana assured "but thank you, you did a great job!"
"Wow Meels they look amazing don't they!?" Brittany enthused, before giving her a hug "Well done sweetheart, you did so good!"
It was a nice family moment for all of them, and they decided to finish the day off nicely by going bowling. Brittany's mom drama could wait until later, she figured, for now she just wanted to have a nice day with her family. Sadly fate had other plans for them, because as they walked towards the bowling alley, Santana's phone began to ring. It was Puck. She ignored it the first time, but instantly it began to call again, so she knew she'd have to pick up. She also knew she'd have to keep calm since Mila was in ear shot. She couldn't go off at him the way she wanted to, because she wouldn't subject her child to that level of drama.
"Hello?"
"I'll be picking Mila up in 30 minutes."
"Excuse me?"
Brittany glanced over at the sudden change in tone, giving Santana a look that said 'is everything okay?'. Santana gestured to Brittany that she'd be two minutes and walked away, leaving her with Mila. She knew this could potentially get nasty. She had absolutely had enough of Puck's behaviour and demands.
"What the fuck are you playing at Puckerman? You told Brittany you couldn't have her this weekend. We're not even home. And you don't just get to mess with my daughter like this. She's not an object."
"Our daughter Santana, you seem to forget that. Look, I had a huge bust up with Stacey earlier, I didn't want to subject Mila to that. But your girlfriends little lecture worked okay? I feel guilty, are you happy now? So I'm saying I'll pick her up and I'll take her to my mom's house for the night and we can both stay there while things cool down. She hasn't seen them in a while anyway, so it'll be good for her, and they want to see her too."
Santana didn't know what to say to that. It was the most genuine she had heard Puck sound in a long time. If anything, she was glad they were on the same page in not putting Mila in uncomfortable situations. And she'd had no idea what Brittany had said to him, but she was glad that whatever she'd said, had gotten through to him.
"Make it 45 minutes. You fuck up again Puckerman, and I swear I'm going back to the courts. I won't let you walk in and out of her life like this."
She hung up the phone before he could respond, and headed back over to Brittany and Mila. She figured that Mila would actually enjoy seeing her other grandma, since she rarely got to see her, so it would be a nice change for her.
"Okay, so change of plan Moo. Dad just called and he's sorry about earlier, but he's managed to sort things out now and he really wants to see you. He's going to pick you up after all and you're going to stay together at Nanny's house tonight."
Mila defensively crossed her arms.
"No!" She raised her voice.
"Baby come on. You haven't seen Nanny P in a while, don't you think it would be nice to see her?"
"I said no!" Mila yelled, and without warning, she turned away and began to run.
Santana wasn't expecting the move and instantly she started to panic. What on earth was Mila thinking!? She could always be a bit funny about going to her dad's house recently, but this was something new entirely. As she scrambled after her daughter, she was thankful that Brittany was a few paces ahead of her, and she managed to catch Mila before she got too far ahead and stopped her in her tracks.
Santana caught up with them and span Mila around. Mila was in tears by now, but she was furious.
"What the hell are you thinking running away like that!?" She demanded.
"Well you just won't listen to me! I SAID I'm not going. I don't ever want to go there again!"
Santana's heart was racing. First with the fear of Mila running off like that, but now at her behaviour and overreaction. She exchanged a worried look with Brittany, before bending down to Mila's level and forcing her to look at her. For the first time, she saw fear in her daughter's eyes, and that put fear in her own mind. She suddenly had this overwhelming dread come over her, where she wondered if there was more than meets the eye with Mila's reluctance and going to her dad's house. She thought it was just her age, but had she overlooked something all this time? All of Mila's behaviour over the past few months came flooding to the forefront of her mind, and suddenly she felt sick, like she couldn't even get the words out to ask the question.
She felt Brittany bend down beside her, and ask the question she so desperately wanted to ask, but feared the answer to.
"Why not, sweetheart?"
And the crack in Mila's voice as she answered was enough to crack both of their hearts.
"Because…I don't feel safe there anymore."