SANTANA

I moan into Brittany's shoulder, "Babe," I say, trying to wriggle out of her grasp, "I love you more than Breadstix, but I really need to get to work, and we have to get Jade to school."

Brittany turns me around to kiss her, and then grabs my hips and pulls me onto the bed. "Don't go to work today," she murmurs into my ear, kissing my earlobe between words. I shiver at the feeling of Brittany's breath on my neck.

"Britt," I warn, pulling myself away from my wife. "I have to go. I'm meeting with a very important band today. I can't be late."

Brittany pouts and sits up on the edge of the bed. I cross the room and start to curl my hair. "More important than me?" Brittany asks quietly. I sigh and set down the curling iron. I know she's mostly teasing, but I do think she's been feeling a little more insecure lately. I turn away from the dresser and sit on Brittany's lap.

"Nothings more important than you babe, that's why I have to go. If I don't go and we miss the meeting, I could be fired. Then what would happen?"

Brittany kisses me, and her hands roam down my back and trace the top of my pants. She always gets like this in the mornings before I leave for work. Knowing that she could stay at this for hours, I roll away from Brittany and return to the curling iron. She groans and flops down on the bed. I glance at her and smile. Even when she's mad at me, the simple sight of her could melt my icy heart.

"I love you babe," I say. I finish curling my hair and start on my makeup. When Brittany doesn't respond, I say it again, "I love you babe." She still says nothing. "I love you babe. I love you babe. I love you babe. I love-"

"Okay Santana! I love you too!" Brittany says laughing. When I finish getting ready I exit our bedroom, with Brittany following me closely. When we get downstairs, our daughter Jade is eating breakfast and reading a book.

I walk over to her and kiss her forehead. She mumbles something that might resemble a goodmorning, before returning her eyes to the pages.

"JJ, is that the book about the little elves and the ring?" I ask. Jade laughs, although I don't see what's funny.

"No Mami," she says, "That was the Lord of the Rings series, which I finished weeks ago."

"Oh," I say smiling.

"Come on Sanny," Britt teases, "She finished that weeks ago."

Jade and I giggle at the same time. I check my watch.

"Alright JJ," I say, grabbing a breakfast bar from the counter, "Go get in the car, we have to get you to school soon, or I'll be late. And I can't be late." I check the baby monitor on the dining room table and sigh. "The boys are still sleeping? I wanted to say good morning. Oh well," I look at Brittany, "Give me a kiss for them will you?"

Brittany is about to respond, but is cut off by wails coming from the room down the hall. I grin, "Guess I can do it myself," I say as I rush down the hall into the boys room.

"Good morning!" I sing softly as I open the door. Tyler lays in the cirb the closest to the door, so I get to him first. Brittany carried the twins, so they have her blonde hair and blue eyes. But despite that, they definitely got my personality. Especially Tyler, he's a feisty one. James is a little more calm, but when he wants something, he won't stop until he gets it.

"Mami! Mami!" They call at the same time. I scoop up Tyler in one arm, and James in the other. I carry them out of their room and down the hall into the kitchen, where Brittany is leaning against the counter with her arms crossed. She smiles at the boys when they come in, and I set them in their highchairs. It looks like Jade already left for the car. I swing my work bag around my shoulder, and lean in to kiss Brittany. She kisses me instantly, and grabs my hips. She pulls me towards her, wrapping her arms around my waist and deepening the kiss. I sigh as I run my fingers through Brittany's hair. Before things can become too heated, I pull away softly and look Brittany in the eye.

"Sorry love," I say, "I-"

Brittany sighs, "I know, I know, you have to go."

I kiss her quickly on the lips, "You'll be okay," I say as I kiss Tyler and James on the heads. "You're a big girl."

I pull on my overcoat and wave my fingers at my wife. She groans, "I'm going to be so lonely!"

"You'll be okay, you have the boys."

"But what about when they're napping?"

"Watch some Tv, relax, call me."

Brittany pouts, "You know, maybe I'll just invite Quinn over…"

I drop my bag and rush over to Brittany, grabbing her waist. "No, no, you don't have to do that, I'll stay, you don't have to invite Quinn."

Brittany laughs and kisses my nose, "I'm just kidding babe, I'll be okay. Good luck at your meeting."

I look down at my watch, and rush out of there.

When I get in the car I look at Jade and mouth "sorry."

"Mom's being clingy again?" She asks.

"Yeah," I say, "She even threatened to invite Fabray over."

Jade feigns a gasp, then grins. Don't get me wrong, I still love Quinn like a sister, we have her over all the time, but ever since she came out, then broke up with her boyfriend, and I caught her trying to kiss my wife(drunk, of course), I've been very cautious of when she comes over without me home. I drive Jade to her school and drop her off. I speed away as soon as I see her enter the school building. I check my watch once more and mumble, "Late, late, late, late."

"You're late," my assistant says as I drop my bags off in my office. He hands me my coffee and I thank him.

"My wife wouldn't let me leave the house," I say, "She's lonely staying there all day with only the boys to keep her company."

"How come she doesn't work?" my assistant says.

"Oh she does," I say as I smooth out my hair and check myself out in the mirror. "She's a mathematician. One of the greatest in the world. But she doesn't have to go into an office every day, they'll just occasionally call her up, ask her a question, she'll give them a few numbers, and then they'll send us a million bucks."

My assistant nods and takes my coffee as I enter the conference room.

"You show great promise," I say to the three men standing in front of me. Two of them have short buzzed hair, and one of them has long, greasy, black hair. "I'm excited to be working with you, come in next week with three songs, we'll look them over, and start recording."

They thank me and I shake each of their hands in return. One of them is actually crying. I understand, getting a record contract with my company is a big deal. We sign off with all the big names, in fact, Blue Ivy is on my best friends list on Snapchat. After the band leaves, my assistant rushes over with my second coffee of the day. It's burning hot, just how I like it. I return to my office and sit down at my desk. As I start replying to emails, my phone rings.

"Babe! I don't know what to do!" Brittany's voice says through the phone, I sit up straight in my seat.

"What do you mean, what happened?"

"It's James, his face is all red and puffy, and he's not breathing right! I'm all alone and I don't know what to do! Please Santana help me," she sobs. I immediately stand up and pull on my coat.

"Take him to the hospital," I can't believe I'm about to say this, "And take Quinn, she's a doctor, she might be able to help."

"Are you coming?" Brittany asks, I can hear her rummaging around for shoes and coats. "I really need you."

I rush out of my office and write down what's happening on a slip of paper, I hand it to my assistant, and he nods. I ran out of the building, earning me odd looks from my employees. "Yeah I'm coming Britt-Britt, just hold on okay, I'm getting into the car. It's a longish drive to the hospital, so I might be a while, but I trust you okay? You're okay, I love you. Now go call Quinn, and get to the hospital. I love you, you're okay."

Brittany sniffles and I hear the car starting. "Okay, I love you Santana."

"I love you too Brittany."

Brittany hangs up and I press my foot against the pedal a little harder. As I toy with the speed limit, I curse myself for working so damn far away. I mumble to myself, and pray to God(Even though I'm not religious) that my baby boy will be okay.

JADE

After my Mami drops me off, I head immediately to my first class, where I find my seat in the back of the classroom. Sometimes I even confuse myself. I'm gorgeous. I mean, I'm a Lopez-Peirce, of course I'm gorgeous. At home I'm always told how funny and bright I am. I'm good at math and science, and I love to read. But at school, I hide my face under my hoodie, I barely talk to anyone. I don't ask questions, and never raise my hand. I only have one friend, but we never hang out outside of school. Whenever my moms ask why I never have any of the friends I ramble on about over, I lie and tell them that they are all busy. It's easier than telling them the truth, the truth being that they don't exist. My one(sort of) friend enters next, and she waves at me. I wave back at her and smile, and she settles into a seat in the front of the classroom. My math teacher talks and talks and talks, and I half listen. Mostly I just doodle in my notebook, but still, the information makes its way to my head and sticks there. I think my teachers know that I don't pay attention in class, but I've never gotten lower than an A+ on a test, and I always know all of the answers, so they don't say anything.

The first couple periods fly by, and soon it's lunch time. My mom always packs me a healthy lunch, so I don't have to buy the nasty school lunches. The cafeteria is loud and hot, like always. I look for my one(sort of) friend and go sit by her. She's sitting with more people than usual. Normally it's just us and a few other loners.

"Hi Kaylee," I say as I sit next to her.

"Oh, hey Jade," she turns to the table of people, "You guys know Jade right?"

No one says anything, I blush. "Hi," I mutter. I look up from my lunch bag and scan the table quickly. It's mostly girls, but there are a few boys sprinkled in too.

One of the boys winks at me. "I've never seen her before, but I don't know how I missed her." He winks again, and my mouth turns sour. The other boys laugh and punch him in the shoulders. They eye me carefully. I feel gross and sick when I see their eyes scan my body.

In middle school I had lots of friends. We were all super close and we hung out all the time. Then around the end of eighth grade, a new girl moved. We welcomed her into our group, and we all thought she was super cool. The thing I loved about my friend group was that together we could be children again. Sure, we talked about boys and makeup, but it wasn't this constant thing. We discussed important things, or we played silly games to make eachother laugh. But all this girl cared about was boys, and when I didn't show the same interest, my friends practically kicked me out of the group I had been in since Kindergarten. So I started high school alone, and it looks like it might stay that way. One of the girls is looking at me carefully too. She smiles at me, and winks. For some reason my stomach twists again, but it's not an unpleasant feeling. The boys start laughing.

"Watch out for Gigi," they saw, shaking the girl playfully, "She likes girls like you. Don't give her any ideas."

Gigi giggles, and I smile. She has a really pretty face, all symmetrical and smooth, I wonder what it would feel like to touch it. My eyebrows shoot up, what am I thinking? I start over. She has a really pretty face, all symmetrical and smooth, I should ask what products she uses on it. That's better.

"Shut up guys," Gigi says, "I have a girlfriend!" Gigi looks at me. "You are gorgeous though."

I don't know what to say, so I just nod. The table goes back to their own conversations and Kaylee leans over to me.

"I joined the soccer team last week, so that's where all these people came from."

I just nod again.

"Do you think Boo Radley is all people say about him? What are your predictions for the end of the book? Do you think we'll get to meet him?" The English teacher asks the class.

I sigh, I've read the book three times already, I know what happens in the end.

"Jade Lopez-Peirce?"

I look up from my notebook. The principal is standing in the doorway, looking straight at me.

"M-me?" I ask.

"Unless we have another Jade Lopez-Peirce in the class, then yes, you." The class giggles. I blush and stand up from my seat. I follow our principle down the hallways into her office in silence.

"Did I do something Ma'am?" I ask, once I'm seated across from her in the cold black chairs by her desk.

"No, you're mother called. Your little brother is in the hospital. Allergic reaction." The principal says, her face not changing.

"Is he okay?" I blurt out, "Will he- will he-"

"He will live. He is recovering."

"Can I talk to her?" I ask quietly. The principal nods and presses a button on her phone.

"Put Mrs. Lopez-Pierce on the line." The phone rings and the principal hands the phone to me.

"Mami?" I whisper.

"Hold on I'm calling someone, wait it's the school, hold on, I have to take this," I hear my mami faintly on the other side. "Jade?"

"Mami? Is everything okay? What happened?"

"Oh baby, everythings okay, I'm here in the hospital with your mom and Quinn. James had an allergic reaction to some ingredient in his medicine. It was some long name, but everythings okay now."

I sniffle, "Okay, I love you. Tell James I love him."

"I will baby, it'll be okay, I promise. I do need you to get a ride home from one of your friends, will that work?"

"Uh, yes."

"Ok the doctor is calling us in, I have to go. I love you, my strong girl."

"I love you too Mami." I hung up. The principal looks at me softly.

"Is everything okay?" she asks.

I nod, "I need a ride home."

"My dad's car is right over there," Kaylee says, pointing to a small black car parked in the school lot. "We have to pick my sister up from her dance lesson, but then we can drop you off at your house."

"Thank you," I say quietly.

"No problem, I hope your brother is okay."

"Me too," I say, then open the car door and slide inside. I take a seat in the back and Kaylee sits up next to her dad. He's tall. As we drive I silently stare out of the window. Kaylee and her dad talk about the day, and soccer. I wonder for a moment what it would be like to have a dad, but then I shake my head. I wouldn't want it any other way. We pull up to a small red building, wedged between two big, gray, ones. Kaylee looks back at me, "I'm gonna go grab my sister, I'll be right back."

I nod at her. When she leaves the car, her dad looks back at me. "You're pretty quiet."

I nod, "Yeah."

"Interesting…"

I look at him, "Why is that interesting?"

"I heard you're Lopez."

"Yes, my Mami is Santana Lopez."

"I used to go to high school with Santana and Brittany, they certainly were not quiet. I was on the cheer squad with them."

"I'm different from them in a lot of ways," I say simply.

"Do you have a voice?" he asks me.

"I'm talking aren't I?"

The man laughs, "Maybe you're not as different as you think. I meant a singing voice, do you sing?"

"Oh," I look down, "Yeah, I sing. Not in competitions or anything, just for fun."

"Well, your moms were certainly talented. Do you dance too?"

"No way," I giggle. "I inherited many things from my mom, but dancing was not one of them."

The man laughs again, "Here come Kaylee and Ava."

I look out of the window and raise my eyebrows in surprise. When Kaylee said her sister, I imagined someone much younger than the long legged girl walking out of the red building. This girl looks like she's my age. Now, Kaylee's not ugly, but she's not completely stunning either. I glance at Kaylee's dad, he's not bad looking, but not movie star worthy.

Unlike his daughter. Ava is by far the most beautiful human on this planet. She has a cute little button nose, big, blue eyes, dark wavy hair, and a body that could put supermodels to shame. And her tight leotard almost makes my mouth drop open.

Oh my god. What's happening? Why does my stomach feel like this? How come I can't breathe, oh my god I can't breathe. Shit, why did I wear this shirt today, I look like I just rolled out of bed. Wait, why am I caring about what I wore today? Is it maybe because the most beautiful woman I've ever seen is standing right outside the car door? I don't know, oh my god what's happening?

"Hi," Ava says, she opens the door to the car and slides in next to me. "I'm Kaylee's sister."

My mind goes blank. "Uh yeah." She stares at me for a second, then grins.

"And you are…"

"Oh!" I say, my face blushing, "I'm Jade. Kaylee's friend."

Ava smiles, "Do you go to the Center High School?"

"Yeah," I say, " With Kaylee."

"Right, I go to the private school down the road," she says. The car pulls out of the dance school.

"Why don't you go to Center?" I ask.

"I was bullied," she says quickly. She looks at my face, then blushes. "Sorry if that was TMI."

"No," I say, "It's totally okay, I was just surprised. Who would bully you? How would they even bully you? Like, what?"

Ava blushes and- hold on? Ava blushed? I made Ava blush? Why does that make me feel so good? Anyway, Ava blushes and bites her lip.

"Um, I was bullied because I'm… gay?"

I try to keep my cool, but in reality my mind is spinning and bouncing. I take a breath that I hope Ava doesn't notice, and smile. "Ugh, some people are just so stupid."

Ava relaxes, "So you're cool?"

I grin at her, "Oh my gosh of course, my moms have been taking me to rallies and protests and parades since I was in the womb."

Ava's face lights up. "That's… awesome."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Ava and I look at each other, then start to giggle. Kaylee looks back at me.

"Jeez Jade, this is like- the most I've ever heard you talk," she says. Ava and I smile shyly at each other. "Same with you Ava." Kaylee says, "Normally she's really grumpy and annoying."

Ava's mouth drops open and slaps Kaylee playfully on the arm. "I am not!"

I giggle. Before I knew it, the car pulls up to my house, and my stomach drops. When I see the empty driveway I'm reminded of why I'm in Kaylee's car in the first place.

"Thank you for the ride," I say to Kaylee's dad.

"No problem, say hi to your moms for me."

"I will, see you later Kaylee."

"Bye Jade."

I look at Ava, unsure what to say. It makes me sad that I might never see her again.

She leans over to me and whispers in my ear, "You're really easy to talk to," she says, her face so close to my skin makes me shiver. "I will talk to you later Jade."

"Bye Ava."

I climb out of the car and open the front door. The house is eerily quiet. I set down my back pack and make my way to the couch. I sit down, and wait.

SANTANA

"Oh my god," I mumble as Brittany collides into my arms. I grab her and hold her tightly. "It's okay baby, I'm here now."

I'm aware that almost everyone in the hospital is staring at our tight embrace, but I don't care. Brittany needs me right now. She pulls away and kisses me. An old lady turns away. I kiss her again, wink at the old lady, and pull my wife into our seats.

"Where is he?" I ask.

She grabs tightly to my hands and squeezes, "He's in the hospital room right now with Quinn. I can't- I can't look at him."

"Come on Brittany, we have to go see him," I tug on her hand a little.

"I didn't know what to do, I just stood there and panicked while he was choking and his eyes were closing up… he could have died, and I wouldn't have done anything about it." Brittany says in a low voice, tears spill between her words. I rub her arm soothingly.

"But you did do something about it Britt, and he's okay, and we're okay. So let's go in there and see our son." I say to her, gently grabbing her chin and making her look into my eyes.

My wife nods and stands up, still holding onto my hand. I stand with her, and together we walk into the hospital room. It's painted blue and has little clouds painted on the ceiling. One female doctor is holding James and talking to my blonde best friend Quinn. Quinn is holding a squirming Tyler in her arms. When Britt and I enter the room, the doctor turns to us and smiles.

"Good news," the doctor says, "Your son is ready to go home. We are aware that your friend Ms. Fabray is a doctor, so we gave her the responsibility of teaching you how to use an epipen, but I don't think you'll need to use it. Just before you feed either of them any cough medicine, always check the label. If he starts to react just inject him with the epipen and he'll be okay."

The doctor hands James to me and I mumble a thank you. Brittany stands there with her mouth in a little o.

"That's it?" Brittany asks.

"That's it," the doctor says, "Unless you had something else you wanted to talk about?"

Brittany glances at me, I give her a small smile. "N-no. That was just quick. Thank you Doc."

The doctor nods and has us fill out some paperwork. Before I know it, Brittany, Quinn, the twins, and I are in the car, driving home.

I'm driving, but one of my hands is gripping Brittany's tightly. Quinn is sitting in the backseat, making silly faces at Tyler, who's being moody at the moment. I smile at them.

"Hey Q," I say, "Thanks for everything."

Quinn smiles at me, then looks at Brittany, her expression is peculiar. "No worries Santana, Brittany knows that I can always come help out when you're busy doing… whatever you do that's so important."

Brittany groans a little, knowing that she was about to lose her wife to the mighty wrath of Snixx.

"Aheh," I say, "First of all Tubbers, I was just trying to say thank you, you don't have to turn it into an opportunity to diss me and my ability to be there for my family. Second of all, 'whatever I'm doing that is so important' is my job, and it's actually a very important thing. It's how I provide for my family. And I love it, and a lot of things are resting on my shoulders over there, so I'm sorry if I'm sometimes a little busy. And third, there is nothing, NOTHING, Fabray, that I love more than my family. If it was necessary to quit my job and move across the country to keep my family safe and happy, I would do it in a heartbeat. But it's not necessary, because Britt can take care of herself, and trust me I find time to make her happy. So would you just back off, and stay the fuck away from me."

Brittany sighs. Quinn blinks. Tyler whines. I pull my hand away from Brittany's and assume the correct position on the wheel.

We drop Quinn off at her house with a quick, half hearted, goodbye. The car ride from Quinn's house to ours is very quiet. I pull into our driveway and turn off the car, but neither Brittany nor I make a move to get out. I turn to her and softly take her hand.
"Britt," I say quietly, "I'm sorry if I was too harsh back there. I was just scared, and stressed. And I love you so much the slightest doubt that you're thinking of anyone other than me makes me want to vomit, and kill someone. And Quinn is, well, she's really pretty. And smart and funny. And I'm a bitch and every day I wonder why you put up with me, and I thought maybe you were starting to wonder that too."

Brittany looks into my dark eyes. Her eyes are wet. She tilts her head at me and sniffles. "I love Quinn like a sister," Brittany says, "but it stops there. She's my second best friend, and she's been that since we were young. But my love for Quinn is like a baby mouse compared to my love for you, which is like, a grandpa hippogriff, San."

She takes her other hand and strokes my cheek lovingly, "I mean, I love you so much sometimes it hurts. It's like this giant thing that lives inside of me, desperate to express itself. It's always growing and changing, and I love it. I love you Santa-"

I lean over the middle console and pull Brittany into a well needed kiss. I put both my hands in her hair, while hers trace my neck and back. Brittany's tongue enters my mouth, and I let out a little moan. I press myself to her, well, as close as I can get, since this damn middle console is in the way.

"Mommy! Mami! Out car!"

I sigh, and freeze what I'm doing. "Shit," Brittany mumbles, hiding a laugh behind her hand. "We gotta stop doing this in front of the twins. They're getting older."

"Yeah yeah," I say, "I know." I glance at our baby boys. "They'll be scarred for life."

Brittany and I look at each other and giggle. We get the boys out of the car, and I carry Tyler in, while Brittany carries James. When we get inside, Brittany brings the boys to their room, and I walk up the stairs into the den.

I find our daughter Jade sitting alone on the couch, scribbling something down in a notebook. She hums a soft tune under her breath. I smile and lean against the doorway, my daughter definitely got my voice. I clear my throat and she looks up in surprise.

"Mami? Is James okay?" she asks immediately.

"He's okay mija," I say, opening my arms up for a hug. Jade runs into them, squeezing tightly before rushing past me down the hallway. I hear her open the door to the twins' room. I follow her slowly, taking my time walking the hall. As I walk I study each picture on our wall. Most of the pictures are photo shoots of our family, or pictures of the kids on halloween or christmases, but my favorite pictures are at the end. A picture of me and Brittany, seven years old, smiling at each other with sticky ice cream covering our faces. Brittany and I one my thirteenth birthday, walking arm in arm down the streets of New York. Brittany and I on our first day of high school. Brittany hugging me goodbye as I leave for college. Brittany and I on our wedding day. Brittany curled up next to me on the hospital bed, sleeping next to me while I held Jade in my arms. I grin, looking at the last picture on the wall. It's a picture I took with my phone one morning. It's Brittany trying to make me breakfast. She has flour all over her face and her tongue sticks out of her mouth, her face edged with concentration. It's my favorite picture ever. Brittany didn't know I had taken it until it was framed on the wall a few days later.

I peek into the twins room and see Brittany cuddled up in the rocking chair in the corner with Tyler on her lap. Jade sits on the floor with James in her arms. Brittany is reading from a picture book, and both of the boys have their thumbs in their mouths and their eyes closed. I stop and listen to Brittany's calming voice for a moment, and then I slide away from their room and climb the second set of stairs into our bedroom. I strip and climb into the shower, letting the heavy events of the day wash away with the water.