"Brittany?" Santana called through the phone. Her voice was shrill and panicked, Brittany could tell, but instead of replying all it did was make her cry harder. "Brittany baby please tell me you're okay. Please. Please just tell me you're okay."

She opened her mouth, but she couldn't speak. Her heart was still racing and her limbs felt weak. Santana was crying too, but silently. It wasn't the loud sobbing Brittany was doing, it was like silent whimpers. Brittany had never heard her cry like that before.

"Brittany" Santana whispered. "Open your laptop okay? I'm gonna skype you"

Brittany nodded. She felt like she didn't even have the energy to stand, let alone move across the room to get her laptop, but there was something in Santana's voice. Something desperate, that forced her body to move.

A few minutes later, she was back on her bed, lying on her stomach with a pillow bunched up in her arms under her chin, looking at Santana. Seeing her seemed to break a second dam inside her, because a fresh wave of tears spilled from her eyes. These were not as hard as her previous ones, but they hurt her stomach and felt like they were draining the energy from her soul.

"Oh Britt"

She wasn't sure if she was crying from relief or residual fear, but she knew she needed to stop.

"San-" she choked

"Hey Britt. I'm here okay? Are you hurt?"

Brittany shook her head, burying it in the pillow.

"You're not hurt? Are you sure?"

"You're not here"

Santana swallowed, her cries getting slightly louder. She bit her lip, forcing herself to be quiet.

"You're…you're in New York and I'm…I'm…" Brittany couldn't finish her sentence. She squeezed her eyes shut as a sob ripped the breath from her lungs and made her feel like her chest was caving in on itself.

"I'm coming"

Santana couldn't take it. She couldn't sit thousands of miles away and watch Brittany break down over a computer screen. She couldn't take not knowing if she was okay. Actually, she couldn't take knowing she wasn't okay and being too far to help her.

"What?" Brittany managed to ask, sitting up.

"I'm coming back"

"To…what do you mean? Do you ha-have to go somewhere?"

"No Brittany" Santana stood up from her bed, and disappeared from the screen for a while. Confused, Brittany sat up properly, crossing her legs. Lord Tubbington jumped into her lap. She silently watched the empty screen until Santana reappeared. "You still there?" Brittany nodded. "I'm coming to you."

Brittany's eyes widened, her pulse quickening again, but this time in the good way. She knew she should tell Santana not to come. She knew she should say she would be fine, and that there was no need for her to come all the way back to Lima, but she couldn't. She was barely holding herself together, and even just sitting in her room she was freaked out at being alone. She tried to think of Sam, she'd tried to talk with him on the phone, she'd hugged him so close it hurt, but it hadn't worked. Despite the fact that he was bigger and taller and had huge muscles that she usually found comforting, it didn't work. He didn't feel right. So instead of doing the right thing, Brittany nodded.

"Wait for me, I'm coming."

They stayed on the call a little while longer as Santana called her dad and asked him to buy her the first ticket out, and then as she told Kurt, who was the only one home, that she was leaving. He was crying too, had waved at Brittany and told her how glad he was she was okay, he'd even asked about Blaine. Oddly enough it had calmed her significantly to talk to him. She didn't really say much, but for some reason seeing him had kind of put into perspective how worried Santana was. Yes, Kurt was worried, he was crying, but it was like a basic level worry. The kind that sits in the back of your mind and keeps you from sleeping properly until it's gone. Santana's worry, as was evidenced by her quick departure, was frantic and all-consuming. It reassured Brittany to see that, because it meant that her relationship with Santana, though strained, had more hope than Kurt and Blaine's. Finally, Santana turned her camera so she was back on Brittany's screen.

"I'm gonna call you on my phone okay?" she asked. Brittany could see her dragging a suitcase.

"Okay"

"We can talk until I'm on the plane"

"Okay"

"I'm gonna call you right back okay?"

Brittany smiled a small smile, and it felt odd on her face.

"Okay"

"Okay"

"Wait, Santana?"

"Yeah Britt"

"Thank you"

Santana smiled at her, then the call was disconnected.

When Santana boarded the plane two hours later, Brittany felt the fear start to creep back in. There was just silence in her room, because Lord Tubbington was asleep, so there wasn't even the sound of his purring. The walls felt like they were closing in on her, instantly causing her heart rate to sky rocket. She moved to the back of her bed, pushing her back against the headboard, pulled her legs up to her chest, and breathed as quietly as she could. Her mind was convinced that she was back in that bathroom stall and shouldn't break the silence, so even when her muscles began to cramp, she held her tight position and refused to move. Her parents came to check on her, but only ever knocked on the door. When she didn't answer, because she physically couldn't, they left. Sam called a few times. More than a few times actually. He seemed to be calling her non-stop, but she didn't answer. She didn't even move her hand to decline the call. She just watched it ring and ring, watched the screen light up with messages and ignored him.

It wasn't on purpose that she ignored him. She really did want to talk to him, she just couldn't think of anything to say. He wanted to talk. He wanted to talk about how he'd felt while in the choir room, how he wanted nothing more than to go out and find her, how he'd thought about what an ass he'd been, and how much he loved her.

It was just too much for Brittany. It was too much to think about thinking about. She wanted to forget. She wanted to forget how she had been crouched on that toilet seat, too scared to even breathe, not knowing what was going on or what to do. She wanted to forget about how all she could think about was not slipping and not crying too loudly. She didn't want to be forced to pretend that she'd thought about him and wished she could have said goodbye. He'd be hurt if she said that, she knew, because he was already hurt that she had been worried about Lord Tubbington all week. It would be the final nail in the coffin, she thought, for him to think that in what could have been her last moments, he hadn't even crossed her mind.

The thought scared her. She couldn't be alone. She couldn't speak to him, and tell him the truth and have him break up with her, because she'd be alone. She couldn't do it. The thought made her hyperventilate, and the next thing she knew she was being engulfed in huge arms, her face buried in her dad's chest as he tightened his grip around her. Then she realised she was screaming.

"Breathe Britt-B. Just breathe honey."

And then everything was black.

When she woke up there was a different yet equally familiar pair of arms around her, and they weren't holding her so tight. She shifted slightly, but Santana didn't seem to notice. It gave Brittany some time to take her in.

She smelled different. It was chocolatey and something else like peach or pineapple. She wasn't sure, but she liked it. It seemed to suite her, like Santana was meant to smell like that all along.

There was a hand tickling up and down her arm as Santana hummed. It wasn't any tune Brittany knew, but it made her feel warm inside, like Santana had been trying to make sure she had good dreams while she slept.

"Mhh" she hummed, letting Santana know she was awake. The humming stopped, but the hand didn't. Brittany was glad. It felt really good.

"Hey" Santana whispered. Brittany turned around to face her, staring into her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Brittany continued to stare. She stared and stared into the brown eyes she had stared into so many times before, trying to see what was different. If they had changed like Santana's smell had, but they hadn't. They were sad, and a little bit scared, but they were the same.

Slowly. Very slowly, like she could spook her, Brittany inched her face forward until her lips rested on Santana's. It wasn't a kiss, but she needed the familiarity. She needed the feeling of safety and warmth that Santana's lips had always given her. Santana didn't move to deepen it, and they stayed like that. Searching each other's eyes and breathing each other's air. Finally, the tightness in Brittany's chest that had been there since the first gunshot went off began to ebb away, like with every breath Santana took that she exhaled she took some of the tightness with it. Brittany let her. For at least half an hour they lay there breathing and staring. Once or twice one of them would lick their lips and brush the other's, but it never turned into a kiss.

"I love you" Brittany breathed, when her heart felt like it could beat unrestricted.

"I love you too" Santana said without hesitation or confusion.

Neither of them needed clarification on what they meant. Neither of them needed to talk about it, or think about it. It was just a statement of fact. Santana would still go back to New York, and Brittany would still be dating Sam, but in that moment none of it mattered. They weren't saying they wanted to be together, even if they did. They weren't saying they missed each other, which they really, really did. They were saying that they held each other in their hearts. They were saying it because sometimes it needed to be said. Sometimes knowing it wasn't enough, and sometimes showing it, like when you dropped everything and took a flight to get there as soon as possible, wasn't enough. Sometimes there was a shooter at school and you had no way of knowing if you'd survive it, so it needed to be said. Not for any reason but for them to both know. Brittany needed Santana to know that she was hers. That they weren't together, and may never be again, but she was Santana's. She was Santana's in every single way a person could belong to another. And Santana said it back because sometimes Brittany needed to know she was hers too.


"Ky, what did mami say about the window button?" Santana called, putting Kyler's window back up from the controls on the steering wheel. Kyler whined. "You know you're not allowed to touch it"

"Mami it's hot" Kyler told her, putting the window down again.

"Kyler Santiago" Santana scolded, putting the window up again. "Don't touch that button again, or you'll be in big trouble."

Kyler pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. Santana sighed, trying not to curse as a car cut in front of her, nearly crashing into the side of her car. She hooted repeatedly, muttering under her breath.

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" Jesus began yelling at the top of his lungs, banging on the door. Santana cringed.

"Stop shouting" Kyler yelled, clearly still in a bad mood.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING" Jesus screamed, startling Santana and making her turn back to look at him, thinking someone was at his window. She sighed and shook her head when she saw no one, willing her heart to calm down.

"Papi don't scream" she told him, stopping at the light.

"Mami the crazy people on the road" he said, waving his hands like he was angry at another driver. She couldn't help but laugh. Even when her kids were being annoying, they were so cute. "BEEP! BEEP!" she sighed again. They were still annoying though.

"STOP SHOUTING" Kyler shouted, reaching over from his car seat and trying to hit Jesus.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY" Jesus continued, ignoring his brother. Kyler, realising he could not reach Jesus from his strapped position, unbuckled himself and leaned over.

"OW"

"Hey" Santana called, looking back at them, "how did you unbuckle yourself?"

"It's easy" Kyler told her innocently. She shook her head and got out of the car, coming to his side and buckling him buck up.

"Don't do it again. You have to ask permission okay?" he nodded a she pulled on the straps, making sure they were secure. At that moment, the light turned green, and the car behind her began to hoot at her. She glared at them. The man who was driving poked his head out of the window.

"What the hell are you doing? Get in your damn car."

"Oh no…actually I think I might just stand here in the middle of the road the whole day, because that's the sort of thing that I enjoy doing with my day." Santana retorted, rolling her eyes. The man hooted at her again. Narrowing her eyes, Santana flipped the man off.

"Move!" He yelled at her.

"Late for your assholes anonymous meeting?" She asked him, moving to the driver's side.

"Fuck you just get in your car and drive bitch"

Santana stopped with her hand on the door handle, turning back to look at the man. She was preparing to tear into the guy like she hadn't done since high school, but then she heard her phone ringing through the car speakers. She pointed warningly at him muttering 'no megusta', and got in.

"RING! RING!" Jesus was shouting.

"Okay, let's be quiet now, so I can talk to mama"

"MAMA" both boys screamed at the same time. Santana smiled, answering the call.

"Hey babe" she said, nearly drowned out by the scream of 'MAMA' that accompanied her. Brittany's laughter came through the phone, relaxing Santana.

"Hi my loves, how are you guys?"

"Good" Jesus answered. "We're in the car"

"Oh" Brittany said, sounding surprise.

"Mami said we needed to go for a drive" Kyler told her.

"I was actually about to call you baby" Santana said.

"Oh cool okay. What's up?"

"Are you really busy today?"

"Not really. I'm teaching, so lighter than my usual day would be. Why?"

"Would you mind if we came to visit you?" she asked desperately. She had stayed home from work today, thinking she'd get some time in her studio when the boys napped, but she had been wrong. Very, very wrong. From the minute they woke up, the two boys had been over hyper. She had swam with them, played football, played tag, built a fort and told stories and allowed them to help her cook, which was when she had decided she needed help. It was only two in the afternoon, but she was exhausted, and the kids seemed to just be getting started. There was no sign of an afternoon nap in sight.

She had called Quinn, who had told her she was still at work, and would be there till 7. Puck had said he would have loved to take them, but he was heading out of town to LA and would only be back the next day. Not wanting to disturb Brittany, Santana had even called Elaine, but even she was too busy with work. Finally, she had decided to at least take the boys out of the house. If Brittany was too busy, she would take them to the park, or to the studio, and let Eve watch them for a while. She wasn't fond of this idea, but she needed help.

"Of course babe. They haven't been here in a while, it'll be fun."

Santana sighed in relief. "Awesome. Thank you B. Seriously." Brittany laughed.

"You don't have to thank me Santana."

"Oh, but I do. We'll see you in a few minutes."

"Cool beans. Have they eaten?"

"At 12:30"

"Okay, I'll get a snack for them"

"Thank you mama" Kyler said sweetly.

"You're welcome my love"

"Mama can we dance?" Jesus asked.

"Can you dance?!" Brittany exclaimed. "Of course you can dance Jesus. You can't come to a dance studio, and not dance can you?"

"No" he giggled.

"Alright then. I will see you three beautiful people in a bit then. Let me get back to class."

"Bye" they all said, before Santana hung up.

The rest of the drive, though still filled with screaming and arguing, some banging on the windows and doors and lots of singing, was significantly less irritating for Santana than the first half had been. Knowing that she was about to meet up with Brittany just seemed to make everything all the more bearable. She could not understand how single parents did it. How day after day, they raised their children alone. With no one to share the good times with, no one to lean on for support when it all became too much. No one to tag in. She was very sure that she was not that strong. Even trying to imagine doing all of this without Brittany just seemed….impossible. It made her realise what leaving Brittany for so long actually meant. Why Brittany had been so emotional when she got back. It wasn't fair for her to do.

She was going to have to talk to Emma about her touring future.


"Mami, can I remove the straps?" Kyler asked, as they parked outside the dance studio.

"Yeah okay, but don't get out." Kyler nodded, concentrating on the clasp. As he did so, Santana got out, and unbuckled Jesus. She picked him up and closed the door, before walking to the other side and helping Kyler out of the car. She decided to pick him up too as she saw a few paparazzi moving closer to them and taking pictures. She hurried to the doors of Brittany's studio, wondering how on earth the paparazzi always seemed to know where she was. As soon as they got into the building, she set them down, taking their hands.

"Good afternoon Mrs Lopez-Pierce" the receptionist greeted, smiling at her from behind her desk. Santana smiled back.

"Hi Cindy. How are you?"

"Very good thank you, and yourself?"

"Good. We just came to visit Brittany" Santana told her, looking down at the boys by her side. Cindy raised herself from her seat in order to see the toddlers who didn't even reach Santana's waist.

"Hi boys," they both waved at her. "Brittany's in studio 5, do you know it?"

"I think so, the last one before the corner right?"

"That's the one. She told me to send you in when you arrived. The snack she asked for will be coming in a few minutes. Can I get you anything?"

"Maybe a bottle of sparkling water please Cindy, that would be great."

"No problem Mrs Lopez-Pierce, cold?"

"Very"

"I'll send it in with the snacks."

"Thank you" Santana said, smiling at her again as she made her way to Brittany's studio. "Wait, Wait!" She exclaimed, rushing forward as she noticed her sons racing ahead of her. They stopped and looked back at her.

"Mama's in there" Jesus tod her, pointing at the door.

"Five" Kyler said.

"Okay, but she's working remember? So let's knock on the door." Both boys stepped forward, knocking on the door. A few seconds later the door opened, and they heard the loud music playing. A man who looked to be in his mid-twenties was standing in the doorway, his expression changing from mildly annoyed to complete awe as he realised who Santana was.

"You uh….you're…"

"Santana Lopez-pierce that's me" she supplied, smiling at him. His eyes never left her face, roving over her features like one would an artwork in a museum. He nodded his head dumbly at her words, but neither moved nor spoke. After about a minute, Santana began to feel uncomfortable, and she could see Kyler and Jesus becoming restless, shifting from foot to foot and beginning to wonder a few feet away from her before coming back.

"You're…really beautiful" the man muttered shyly, finally lowering his eyes from Santana. She smiled.

"Thank you"

"Henry" they heard Brittany's voice call. Kyler and Jesus tried to run through the door, but Henry was still blocking it. He turned sharply to look at her. "What are you doing? We're still in the middle of class."

"Mama" Kyler called, trying to push past Henry with one hand.

"Don't push" Santana told him, pulling him back towards her. That seemed to snap Henry out of whatever daze he had fallen into. He hurriedly moved out of the way, just as Brittany came into view.

"Oh" she smiled brightly at seeing Santana, bending down to pick up Kyler, who had not wasted any time in running to her once the way was clear. Winking at Santana to let her know she was not ignoring her, she focused her attention on the two little boys begging for it. "Is that so" she said to something Jesus was telling her. Santana laughed, blowing Brittany a kiss to tell her it was okay, and made her way into the now slightly silent room. Someone had stopped the music, but the conversation that started up at her arrival was almost as loud. She was used to it, especially on days when the studio had classes. The people who attended those classes were just ordinary people. They weren't used to being around celebrities like the staff, or the people Brittany worked with. They were high school and college students, or struggling dancers who had never really been able to make it in the industry. So their reactions didn't really take Santana by surprise. She simply smiled, making her way to where she could see Brittany's bag in a corner, and sat down on one of the chairs, deciding to watch Brittany interact with their sons instead of the crowd of people taking pictures of her.

After five minutes, Kyler and Jesus calmed down enough to let Brittany go. She made her way to Santana, kissing her quickly on the lips and then again on the forehead.

"Hi baby" she whispered. Santana smiled up at her.

"Hi B. Sorry for disrupting your class."

Brittany shook her head. "No you didn't" Santana raised an eyebrow, shifting her eyes to the group of people standing around watching them. Brittany laughed. "Yeah okay…but it doesn't matter. I'm glad you came, I missed you guys today."

"Well I'd hope you miss us every day." Santana smirked, crossing her legs and fighting a laugh at the 'she's so hot' she heard from someone behind Brittany.

"Always" Brittany answered, not having noticed anything.

"I hope we're not going to be too much of a distraction"

"I wouldn't get your hopes too high." Brittany told her, bending down to kiss her head again before slowly backing away. "You're super sexy today" Santana shook her head. As Brittany tried to regain the class' attention, Santana noticed a group of three women, they looked about 21, talking to Jesus and Kyler. She watched them for a few seconds, standing when she saw one of them trying to hug Jesus, her friend's phone out and ready to take a picture.

"Please don't" she called loudly. Most eyes turned to her, but the three girls didn't seem to hear. She walked towards them just as the girl was about to pick Jesus up, and removed him from her grip. She kept a smile on her face, even though inside she was thoroughly annoyed. "Hi, I'd prefer if you didn't touch them or take pictures with them without our permission." The girls seemed stunned that she was even talking to them, and she was sure that they hadn't actually heard what she'd said. Deciding it was best to just leave it at that, she took Kyler's hand as well and led them back to the front where Brittany was. "If you're dancing, I want you to stay up front with mom, okay?" she told them. They both nodded as Brittany walked towards them.

"Something wrong?" Brittany asked.

"Just some people getting a bit too touchy with them. It's fine, I'd just rather they stayed where you can keep an eye on them." Brittany nodded in understanding. "If they get in the way send them over to me okay?"

"Sure babe. But they'll be fine. I teach with me all the time right buddies?"

"Yeah!" they both cheered.

"Okay class, let's get back to it. I want to make one thing clear, this is still a lesson, and I expect everyone to be focused and giving it their all. Ignore these two" she put her hands on Jesus and Kyler's heads, "even though they are the definition of adorable and may be showing you up with all their natural talent." Laughter met her statement. "I don't know why you're laughing, I'm totally serious. Okay, so now that you've all pretty much got the choreography, I'm not going to be dancing it with you anymore. Instead I'm going to watch, and correct where need be." Everyone nodded and took their positions. "We're going to do it in counts of eight for now, see how far we get."

As a few people stretched, Brittany walked to the stereo and hit play. Not two seconds later she was pausing again, because Kyler had run over to her to tell her something. Santana watched with a smile as Brittany nodded, picked him up and placed him on her shoulders, before starting the music again.

"Ready?" she shouted over the music. There were a few claps, but mostly nods and thumbs up. "5….6….7….8." The dancing started, and Brittany paced back and forth in front of the mirror, watching everyone's moves, and counting out the steps. Jesus danced madly, not knowing what the moves were, but enjoying the music none the less. Santana recorded everything he did. Kyler was content to stay on Brittany's shoulders, watching everyone as well. Occasionally he would point at something or someone, and Brittany would nod her head or give him a high five. Santana loved this. It was better than anything she could have dreamed her life would be like in high school. She got to watch Brittany being an amazing mother, and an amazing instructor and she got to watch her sons being cute and adorable and just perfect. Finally Kyler stopped the music with a remote Brittany had given him, and everyone stopped dancing. Most were out of breath and panting.

"That was really good everyone. You guys have got it down pretty well. There are just some things I want to tighten out." She tilted her head back to look at Kyler. "Sorry bud, you gotta go down" he shook his head and tightened his legs around Brittany's neck. Cindy walked through the door just then with two plates and two juice bottles tucked under her arm.

"Mi amores your food's here." Santana called. Jesus came running, jumping onto her lap, but Kyler looked conflicted.

"Go and eat. When I'm ready to start again I'll come get you" Brittany told him. After a moment's hesitation he nodded, and she placed him down on the floor.


An hour later, Brittany wrapped up her class. She said goodbye with a sleeping Jesus in her arms, while Santana tried to pick up her purse with Kyler asleep on her lap.

"Need help?" Brittany asked, as the last of her students walked out.

"Not from you" Santana whispered. "If these two wake up, I'm leaving them here with you." Brittany laughed. Kyler had fallen asleep shortly after eating. He spent maybe another 10 minutes on Brittany's shoulders before he had asked to go sit with Santana. A minute later he was out like a light. Jesus on the other hand, took a lot longer to go down, as was typical. He had danced none stop since finishing his sandwich, despite the constant yawning and rubbing of his eyes. Only ten minutes before the class ended had he given up the fight, and allowed Brittany to carry him. Santana was grateful she had decided to come to Brittany's studio. If this was the kind of stimulation they needed today in order to take a nap, she would never have been able to do it at home.

"Yeah, no kidding." Brittany whispered back. "Let's just take them to the car, and then I'll come back for our stuff. I came with a lot of things today anyway." Santana nodded and stood up, trying as best she could to stretch her back.

When the boys were safely in their car seats, Brittany ran back into the studio and grabbed their bags. Santana laughed when she saw how many bags Brittany was carrying.

"What's all that?" she asked, opening the boot.

"My usual duffle bag, my laptop bag, and some speakers."

"Speakers?"

"Yeah, the ones in one of the rooms are broken, so I volunteered mine."

"Of course you did" Santana said, shaking her head.

"What?" Brittany asked smiling.

"Nothing" they both got into the car. "You were really cute today"

"I'd hope I was cute everyday" Brittany said with a smirk. Santana laughed.

"Always. But watching you carry Ky around on your shoulders and dance ridiculously with Jesus while still managing to actually do your job and teach…it was just…really cute."

Brittany blushed, reaching over the console and taking Santana's hand. "Thanks baby"

"I'm serious B" Santana said, as she pulled out of the parking space. "It was exactly how I pictured spending my days in the future when we were in high school."

"Me too" Brittany said, lightly brushing her thumb over Santana's knuckles. "Doing the thing I love most, with the person I love the most right beside me."

Santana smiled at her. "I love you."

"I love you too Santana" she looked into the back seat at the soundly sleeping toddlers and smiled. "Today was great. Thank you for coming to visit me." Santana laughed.

"Thank you for being there to save me."

"You're welcome"

They sat in a comfortable lazy silence for a few minutes as they drove home, Brittany still caressing Santana's hand as she watched the cars and buildings pass by. It was only half past three, but she was actually pretty tired, and considering taking a nap as well. When they got home, they got out of the car as quietly as they could and unbuckled the sleeping children.

"Oh" Santana said, as Jesus settled in her arms. Brittany raised an eyebrow in question. "Kyler can unbuckle himself now, so that's going to be fun."

"What?" Brittany whisper yelled, bobbing up and down to make sure Kyler didn't wake up. He liked movement. "Since when?"

"Today I guess" Santana said, unlocking the front door.

"Why does he have to keep learning new things?" Brittany whined, imagining all the fights she was going to be getting into with him over removing his seat belt.

"He's a genius just like his mama" Santana told her, walking up the stairs. Brittany stopped, staring up at Santana as she walked away and feeling her heart swell with love at the words she knew Santana really meant. Even though she was no longer insecure about her intelligence, it still made her feel warm inside when Santana told her she was smart. It reminded her of a time when those words motivated her to be better. To study, to go to class, to stay in school. The fact that Santana believed she was clever, and told her so at every opportunity, meant more to Brittany than she thought even Santana knew. She looked down at Kyler and smiled, kissing his head over his hair.

"Just like your mama." She whispered, before following Santana up the stairs.


"Mama"

"Yes honey?"

"Uuuh…why?"

"Why what my love?"

There was a long silence before Brittany pushed herself up enough to see the two year old standing by the door to her studio. When he saw her looking at him, he ran full speed towards her, giving Brittany just enough time to tense her stomach before he landed on top of her.

"Oooh" she groaned, helping him position himself so he could lie on her stomach. When he was settled, he tilted his head back to look at her.

"Why?"

She frowned slightly, still not understanding his question.

"Why…are you downstairs?"

"No"

"Why is the sky blue?"

He paused for a second, then shook his head. "No".

"Why are you a baby?"

"NO" he screamed, kicking his foot.

"Okay, alright. You're not a baby Ky, I understand. Why am I lying on the floor?"

"Why you are you lyin in de floor?"

"Excellent question indeed" she said. "Well, dancing is a lot of work, and if mama wants to do that work properly, she has to be fit."

"Fit"

"Exactly. So I was exercising, to make me strong, but then I got tired, so I lay down on the floor, and then you came in" she tickled his stomach, laughing as he descended into hysterical giggles. He was extremely ticklish.

"KYLER" Quinn's voice rang through the open door.

"In here with me Quinn." Brittany called to her. A few seconds later, Quinn came running in through the door.

"Oh my gosh…"she placed her hand over her heart.

"How did he get in here?" Brittany asked. Her tone was light, since Kyler was still looking up at her, but Quinn had known her long enough to recognize the anger.

"Sorry Britt, he just…he slipped away."

Brittany turned her head to look at Quinn, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Where is Jesus?" She asked, instead of continuing that particular conversation. How does one just say, 'he slipped away' about a three and a half year old toddler? She didn't even want to think about how he made it down the stairs on his own.

"He's uh…" Quinn took a step backwards, pointing out the door. "He's upstairs in the play pen, I'm going to head back up there, I just needed to find Kyler, and now I have so…and he's fine, here, with you, so I'm going to go up the stairs, upstairs" she laughed nervously, "and uh….and get him." she dashed out the door before Brittany could respond.

"Tia" Kyler said, pointing after her.

"Yup" Brittany told him, moving him to her lap and sitting up. "Yup. Tia is really weird today."

"Weird today"

"Right. Well my love, would you like to explain to me how you managed to get down here?"

"No" Brittany couldn't help but laugh.

"Would that be because you don't know enough words?"

"No"

"Hmm. I should have known your favourite word would be no, considering you're Santana's son."

"Mami"

"Mami says no a lot too huh?"

"No me gusta"

Brittany burst out laughing, peppering Kyler's face with kisses.

"Oh my baby boy….I love you so much. I always told mami that having a kid together would mean a mini her. Thank you for proving me right."

"Mami"

"Yeah. Mami is great isn't she?"

Kyler nodded his head, looking around the studio. Unlike his brother, he didn't immediately start dancing when he entered this room, but he loved it just as much. He liked to sit in front of the mirror and talk to his reflection, or study his features. There was a corner that Brittany had basically allowed him to declare as his own, that had many markings on the floor and wall from his drawing and colouring. That was where he liked to spend a lot of his time these days, especially when he was tired. He liked to sit or lay there when Brittany was practicing or working, and listen to the music while he drew. Brittany and Santana suspected that he liked it a) because it was one on one time with his mama, and b) because his loud, overactive twin brother never had the patience to join him. While Kyler had just as much energy as Jesus, he was not as hyper. He enjoyed outside sports, but he also had down time, times when he was tired and just wanted to watch tv, or cuddle and listen to a story. There were exactly two hours in the day when Jesus sat still or quiet if he was awake. The hour after he woke up, and the hour before he went to sleep at night. Having a hurricane like that for a twin was not easy for Kyler, so Brittany liked that he had found some peace with her. He often fell asleep for his afternoon naps watching her dance. She loved it.

Slowly, Kyler moved off Brittany's lap, settling himself in his corner, which always had a mat and blanket, and looking at Brittany expectantly.

"Aha" she said with a smile. "So that's why you came down here. Time for a nap huh buddy?"

"No"

"That's why you're saying such few words too right?

"No."

"No? Why are you all cuddled with a blanket then?"

"No mama"

"Mhhh…alright. You make a fair point. I shouldn't assume." Kyler looked at her, waiting for her to move. Brittany could see his frustration mounting the longer she sat there, but she and Santana had decided that they needed to stop giving in to tantrums and start getting them to use more words, and the best way to do that is to force them to ask for the things they want, even if she already knew what that was. Kyler began to whine, pointing at Brittany.

"What do you want Kyler?"

"Mama"

"Yes baby, tell me how I can help you."

His whines grew louder until finally he let out a piercing scream.

"Kyler….Kyler my love…no screaming" he quieted slightly, a heavy pout forming on his lips. "Don't cry Ky, just tell mama what you want." He pointed at her. "What do you want?"

"Mama" he said again, his voice high pitched. He was on the verge of tears.

"Yes handsome?"

"I want you to dance"

"Dance?" she jumped up. "You want mama to dance?" he nodded his head vigorously. It amused her that 'no' was a constant in their house, but 'yes' seemed to be a non-verbal thing. She wondered vaguely what that said about how often she and Santana said yes. "Alright buddy. You got it." She swiftly moved to her phone and pressed play, instantly lowering the volume as the song she was listening to came blasting through the speakers in the wall.

"Dance" Kyler repeated, pointing at her.

"You got it kiddo. Let's dance."


"What are you doing?" Brittany whispered, as on her way to take Kyler to bed she spotted a clearly very exhausted Jesus, naked save for his diaper, sitting on the floor and splashing water.

"Water mama"

"Yeah bud, I can see that, but…" she broke off as his tiny hand slapped the water, splashing all over himself and her feet. "Where's Tia?"

"Here!" Quinn exclaimed, running into the hallway. "He wasn't…I put him in the kitchen. He must have moved."

"Okay" Brittany sighed, looking down to make sure Kyler was still sleeping. "First of all, shush up. If he wakes up there will be hell."

Quinn's eyes widened like she hadn't noticed Kyler at all. She clamped a hand over her mouth quickly, nodding. Brittany frowned.

"Second of all, a bucket of water? Really Q? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Quinn shook her head, bending to pick Jesus.

"No" Jesus cried, trying to hold on to his bucket of water. Quinn didn't notice, and before Brittany could warn her, she lifted Jesus into the air. The water fell to the floor, spilling all over Quinn. Brittany jumped back several feet and then climbed the first step to get away from it, shaking her head as she heard the loud sound of the bucket hitting the floor. "Tiiiaaa" Jesus whined, bursting into tears.

"I'm gonna…I'm just going to clean that up Britt."

"You do that" Brittany said, foregoing the whispering. If the noise of the falling bucket and Jesus' yell didn't wake Kyler, she felt she was safe.

On her way back down, making sure to close the baby gate, Brittany thought about Quinn. For the last few hours she had been a mess. She'd burned the lunch she was supposed to have made for the boys, lost Kyler and let Jesus play with a bucket of water. When she talked to Brittany it was like one would talk to a boss they were really scared of. Jumping, apologising and scrambling to fix mistakes. It was really weird. As soon as she got to the last step, she was nearly tackled by a crying, freezing cold Jesus. Without waiting for Quinn, who she knew would be following soon, she turned on the spot and walked back up the stairs. She needed to get some clothes on his little body before he caught a cold.

"Jesus" she told him, as she reached the top. "You need to wear some clothes okay?" He looked at her like he was unsure if he wanted to cooperate. "You know who wears clothes?"

"No"

"Mami"

"Mami?"

Brittany nodded seriously. "Yeah. You wanna be like mami right?"

"Si"

"That's what I thought. So are you going to wear clothes?" he nodded. "Excellent. Thank you my love." She moved to his room, bust stopped abruptly when he screamed. "No screaming" she hissed, hoping to every god that Kyler didn't wake up. "What's wrong?"

"Not that way! No!"

"No? Why? Why not that way?"

"Not that one."

"But you said you were going to be like mami" he nodded, and she frowned in confusion. "Okay so…how are you going to do that if you don't wear clothes?" he pointed to her room, and she immediately understood.

"Mami clothes" he told her. She nodded.

"You want to wear mami's clothes?" he nodded. "Okay, you got it little man."

Five minutes later, she emerged from the room with Jesus wearing one of Santana's smallest shirts, which basically reached his ankles, a pair of her socks, and one of her beanies. He looked very pleased with himself, and Brittany had several pictures on her phone, one of which she'd sent to Santana. She held onto his hand as they made their way down the stairs, listening to him sing Billie Jean. She smiled.

Santana had insisted on playing her favourite music to the boys from when they were infants, so now they knew them better than any nursery rhymes, but Michael Jackson was a whole different story. There was a period of time that Brittany was actually getting sick of all the Michael she was being forced to listen to, though she never told Santana that for fear of her marriage. It felt to her like they had been listening to him every day for two years straight.

"Good job bud, almost there" she encouraged. Honestly if it wouldn't cost a fortune and be such an inconvenience, she would have the stairs in their house redone. They were definitely too big for kids. They would probably be too big for Jesus and Kyler until they were 8. How she and Santana hadn't noticed that when they were buying the house was crazy. The boys had developed a way to go down them backwards using their hands and feet, but it both gave Santana a truckload of anxiety, and took them forever. Jesus slipped slightly since he was wearing socks, and Brittany looked down to make sure he got his footing.

"Mami"

"She'll be home soon baby."

Jesus stopped walking and lifted his arms up. "Up mama please."

"You're almost done Jesus, just four more."

"Up mama….Carry me." he screamed, bouncing on the spot. "Up maamaaa! Up" he cried, trying to drop himself on the stair. Brittany held him up with his hand. "Maamaaa"

"Okay, all these tantrums clearly mean that you are tired." Brittany said, picking him up. He immediately pointed at the door.

"Vamos" he kicked his legs wildly, urging Brittany to move. "Let's'go"

"Where are we going?" Britany said, unable to keep in the laugh at his urgency.

"To Mami"

"Oh. Mami isn't here yet Jesus, but she's coming." She brushed his hair out of his face.

"I think he might be trying to tell you something"

Brittany's head snapped up at the sound of Santana's voice. When she saw her wife standing in the door way, she broke into a huge smile.

"You're home"

"Hi love"

"Mami" Jesus cried, tears springing to his eyes so quickly that Brittany was actually impressed.

"Papi, I missed you. Come here" gently, she lifted Jesus out of Brittany's arms and gave him a tight hug. He rested his head on her shoulder, one hand playing with the ends of her hair. "You look amazing, did you know that?" he nodded his head, smiling.

"Like mami"

"Like me?" Santana asked, looking at Brittany.

"We wanted to be like mami, and we couldn't do that in our own clothes."

"Ahh" Santana said, smiling widely. "I get it. Well, you look great mi amor."

"Thank you."

Santana turned to Brittany, taking a step closer to her so that their bodies were almost touching. She leaned up and kissed her, loving the way their lips fit together like she did every time they kissed. She let out a content sigh.

"Hi baby" Brittany murmured into her lips.

"Hi"

"Long day?"

"Long meeting. Sorry I had to go in. I'm glad I'm home."

"It's okay, it was just a few hours. And we're glad you're home too."

Santana smiled, pecking Brittany's lips quickly. "When did you finish in the studio?"

"About 20 minutes ago. Ky fell asleep in there again, so I just took him up." Santana nodded, humming. "On my way, I found this guy naked and playing with a bucket full of water." Santana frowned.

"Where was Q?" She asked. Brittany shrugged.

"She came running in a second later. She's off today, but I haven't had a chance to talk to her."

"Well, unlike Ky, this little man can sleep through a conversation, so let's go."

"How long until he's out, do you think?" Brittany asked, brushing Jesus' hair off his forehead again and kissing it. Santana looked down at him.

"Five minutes?"

"Ten" Brittany said, kissing Santana again before making her way to the kitchen where she assumed Quinn was.

"What does the winner get?"

"Massage?" Brittany suggested. Santana smirked.

"You're on." She said, lifting her hand to look at her watch.


They found Quinn frantically scrubbing a plate, her sleeves rolled up past her elbows and hair falling wildly from her ponytail. Santana glanced at Brittany with a raised eyebrow as she lowered herself into a seat. Brittany shrugged, leaning against the counter on her elbows.

"Hey Lucy Q" Santana said casually. Quinn spun around quickly, splashing water on the floor. Santana raised a hand, palm facing Quinn, frowning. "What the hell?"

"Sorry…sor- You scared me, I didn't know you were home."

Santana turned to Brittany, frowning heavily. Never in all the years she had known Quinn, had she not been yelled at for calling her Lucy Q. Not once. It didn't matter where they were, who they were with or what they were doing. The reaction was instant when she was 17 and remained that way even now, ten years later.

"Right" Brittany said, slowly straightening up. "So, why don't you sit down?"

"No, I have to finish washing these dishes, and then I have to go clean up the living room before they wake up. They made a mess at lunch time, but I haven't had the time to clean it up. I put their clothes in the laundry, there were a ton of grass stains and mud and…some food honestly…"

"Quinn" Santana tried to interrupt, but she was ignored.

"I need to get those into the drier in a few minutes, there are some toys in the pool that I should probably get as well…probably a shirt too, sorry, and then-"

"Quinn!" Santana said as loudly as she could without startling Jesus. Quinn stopped talking, staring at her with wide eyes. "Take a breath will you?"

"Is everything okay?" Brittany asked. Quinn sighed.

"Yeah, I'm just…I'm trying to cope?"

"Wiiith?" Santana prodded, looking down at her watch then at Jesus to confirm he was sleeping.

"With…taking care of two three year old toddlers who have a never ending supply of energy and demand constant attention, while also having to make sure they are fed and uninjured. I'm sorry guys, I really am. I wanted to be able to do this for both of you so that you could work, but…" she sighed heavily. "But it's impossible. I can't keep up with them both. There's always something that needs to be done, someone who's trying to run away, and someone who is crying. I can't…all day I've been playing catch up, and it's just a little too much for me to handle."

Santana burst out laughing, standing up and walking out of the kitchen. Quinn frowned, watching her until she was gone, then turned to Brittany.

"Ignore her." Brittany dismissed. "Look Quinn, of course it's too much to handle. You've never been alone with them both. It just takes a few tries before you realise the things that work and the things that don't. Remember when they were overwhelming you, Puck, Santana and me? Eventually we adapted." Quinn nodded, taking comfort in the truth of Brittany's words. "Plus in all fairness to you, they are a lot. Santana and I struggle too sometimes."

"Yeah" Quinn scoffed. "Except I was trying to get them to sleep for two hours, and within minutes you had Kyler down. All Santana had to do was hold him and Jesus was out." Brittany laughed.

"Duh dummy, we are their parents, in case you forgot. We have to be better at parenting than you, otherwise we're in real trouble." They both laughed.

"That's fair."

They sat in silence for a while, as Quinn calmed down. Brittany watched her the whole time.

"Can you stop staring at me?"

"Are you going to tell me why taking care of my kids, as hectic as they are, nearly had you breaking down?"

Quinn sighed. "I'm a control freak-"

"No kidding" Santana said, retaking her seat and rolling her eyes. "By the way, I win B"

"Whatever Santana, I'm just saying that it's hard for me not to be good at stuff. It doesn't happen often. I kind of figured that since I'm their favourite auntie, this would be easy"

"Well that was dumb"

"Britt!" Quinn exclaimed, completely shocked. Santana laughed.

"What? It's true. Is dealing with Santana ever easy for you?"

"Hey" Santana said, pretending to be offended.

"No way" Quinn laughed. Santana narrowed her eyes playfully at her.

"Is dealing with me?"

"I mean, I've kind of figured you out"

"HA" Santana barked, shaking her head. "Wrong Fabray. The only person that has Britt figured out is moi."

"Well okay…whatever, sometimes you stump me. What's your point Britt?"

"My point is, why would you assume you could handle twin toddlers raised by the two friends you've known for 13 years and have never been able to really understand?"

"You have a point."

"Britt always has a point" Santana said nonchalantly. Brittany grinned at her as Quinn rolled her eyes.

"I love when you do that" she whispered into Santana's temple, before kissing it.

"What?" Santana asked, smiling at the gesture.

"When you make it seem like everything I say is the wisest thing you've ever heard."

Santana shrugged, turning to look at Brittany. "I'm just keeping it real." Brittany couldn't resist leaning in and giving her a kiss.

"Urgh…for the record" Quinn said, even though no one was listening to her, "I hate it."

"What's the real reason you were losing it?" Santana asked after a few minutes of relaxed conversation. Brittany frowned, confused.

"I already told you. I'm just not used to being-"

"Cut the shit. There's another reason and I know it, so just spit it out."

Quinn sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "My mother called me."

"That's….nice?" Brittany said, sounding unsure.

"She said one of her friends saw me on TMZ with Jesus and Kyler."

"Annddd" Santana prompted, wishing Quinn would just hurry up.

"And she wanted to know why I was so content to take care of other people's children instead of settling down and having my own."

Brittany and Santana didn't know what to say. Brittany let out a quiet 'oh' nodding her head while Santana pressed her lips together and widened her eyes.

"Yeah" Quinn said seriously. "Anyway, the conversation ended with her saying how it was probably a good thing I didn't want kids cause she didn't think I was ready."

"And being able to take care of Jesus and Kyler on your own for the entire day would prove that you were" Santana said, putting the pieces together.

"Something like that" Quinn said shyly.

"Babysitting, no matter how long you do it for, is nothing like raising your own kid" Brittany said. She stood up and walked to Quinn, putting her hand on her shoulder. "You get parental instincts and the natural bond you and your kid share to help you. You'll get it one day."

Quinn smiled weakly, eyes averted to the floor. "Yeah. One day."


After Quinn left, Santana and Brittany cuddled under a blanket with the tv on in the background. Brittany was lying on Santana's chest, enjoying the way Santana was playing with her hair.

"So how did the meeting go?

Santana sighed, looking down at Brittany apologetically.

"I still have to do the concert."

Brittany pressed her lips together to keep the disappointed pout from showing.

"I'm sorry."

"No it's okay." Brittany shook her head. "It's your job, I can't be mad about that."

"But I hate leaving you, and now that you told me how much you hate it too I just feel...I feel like the worst wife ever."

"Santana" Brittany giggled. "Don't be silly."

"I'm serious Britt."

"Stop." Brittany reached up to cup Santana's cheek. "It's your job, and you love it. We'll adapt to you having to be away, just like we did when we were both traveling after we got married. A couple of weeks is nothing when you're spending a lifetime with someone right?"

Santana smiled, relaxing slightly.

"Except when you have kids who change so much day to day."

"Yeah...but like I said, we'll adjust. I'm the one that convinced you to go back to touring baby. I know you love it."

"I do." Santana nodded, resuming her fingers movement through Brittany's hair. "But I love you guys more."

"Aaaw"

"Shut up" Santana giggled.

"So where are you going?"

"Australia."