Two and a half weeks of being in the house with Santana and the twins and Brittany still wasn't feeling settled. She spent every night either watching over the twins in their beds, falling asleep on the rocking chair they still had in there, or lying awake in her own bed listen to Santana's heavy breathing. Her mind knew the boys were safe. She knew Kyler wasn't traumatised, because he never even talked about the event, never woke up with nightmares and hadn't developed a fear of strangers, but she couldn't relax. Her heart still beat too fast when either of the boys screamed as they played. Panic rose in her chest when they were quiet for too long, and she'd immediately drop everything to check on them. She knew it wasn't rational, especially since they hadn't left the house since coming back from Australia.

But fear was rarely rational, Santana had taught her that, and neither was anger which was all she felt besides fear. Her parents had been calling her every day, sometimes twice a day, and she hadn't been answering. Brittany couldn't bring herself to talk to her mum. She knew exactly how the conversation would go, with numerous and probably very sincere apologies, and she knew she would eventually end up saying that it was okay. She didn't want to say that, because it wasn't. Sometimes when she thought about that video a fan had posted showing what went down in the park, her test tightened and her throat closed. She would experience the same nausea that had risen in her throat when her brain had processed what Jessie was saying, and she could see Santana's wide panicked eyes clearly in her mind. That wasn't okay.

Nothing about what had happened was okay, and Brittany wouldn't tell her parents otherwise no matter how sad they were. So she was ignoring their calls.

She was ignoring the whole world really. She's called in to work the day after they arrived back in the States to request more time off…well request was a nice way of putting. She'd practically told her boss that she wasn't coming back till she was ready and if he had a problem with it he could shove it up his ass. Santana had convinced her to follow the conversation up with an email, which was worded much more politely, just to make sure she didn't get fired.

Since then she hadn't talked to anyone but Santana, Jesus and Kyler. Quinn and Puck had called, but Santana had talked to them, and the one time they'd dropped by Brittany had been taking a nap with the boys, so she hadn't seen them. The paparazzi had followed Quinn and Puck to their house and hounded them so relentlessly that they'd all decided it would be better if they steered clear for a while.

The isolation had been nice. Tiring, since they had to come up with ways to entertain their toddlers without leaving the house, but nice. It reminded Brittany of the snow days they'd had back in high school, when she would sneak over to Santana's house and they would bake or snuggle under a blanket and watch movies all day. Brittany smiled at the memories.

Standing up from the couch, she went to find Santana in the backyard. She'd left them outside, making use of the pool before December rolled around and it was too cold.

"Santana!" She called.

Santana turned with Jesus in her arms.

"Are you coming in mama?"

"No bud. Actually I wanted to see if you guys wanted to watch some movies."

"Yes!" Kyler squealed happily, paddling over to the stairs. Santana walked to him, putting her hand on his butt and helping him lift himself out.

"You wanna watch a movie mijo?" she asked Jesus, and Brittany wrapped Kyler up in a towel.

"Um…"

"Yes let's watch a movie" Kyler said.

"Okay." Jesus nodded. "Can I pick the movie?"

"You can both pick and we'll watch both." Brittany said, reaching down and lifting him out of the pool to stand beside his brother.


Santana walked in fifteen minutes later with Kyler on her hip, finding Brittany cuddling with Jesus on the couch.

"You guys picked a movie yet babe?" She asked, dropping Kyler playfully onto the couch and laughing at his scream and subsequent giggles. Brittany waited for Kyler to settle under the blanket before answering.

"We've narrowed it down to three choices. We were waiting for you guys to come and pick."

Santana placed the bowl of popcorn on Brittany's lap, and lay down next to Kyler, glad that she and Brittany had bought such huge couches. "Okay what have we got?"

"Monsters inc…."

"Yes!" Kyler shouted.

"Hold on papi let's hear the other ones." Santana laughed.

"What were the other two Jesus?" Brittany asked.

"Toy story 2 and cars" he said patiently.

"Okay…well Ky what do you choose?" Santana asked, looking down at him. He pulled a face, his nose scrunching up as he thought.

"I don't know. What do you choose mama?"

"Monsters Inc." Brittany told him.

"Me too" he said quickly. Brittany knew he wanted it all along, which is why she had chosen it. Her sons had entered the stage where all toddlers become copy cats. So even if they had their minds made up, all Brittany and Santana had to do was say they wanted something else, and it wouldn't be long before they changed their minds.

"Okay!" Santana exclaimed, taking the remote and selecting the movie. "Monsters Inc. it is."

Brittany loved movie nights. It made her feel so whole, and happy, just being able to relax with her family and watch her favourite genre…Disney. By now they had watched almost every one, though there were some that were household favourites, so they were watched more often. Kyler loved monsters Inc., Jesus loved the lion king, Santana loved Mulan and Brittany could never pick a favourite. She loved them all. But right now Brittany was sure she wouldn't even care wha they were watching. Just being there with her family was enough. She took a deep breath, squeezed Jesus tight and focused on the tv.


Halfway through the movie, Santana noticed that Jesus was getting restless. He kept shifting, and trying to cause as much distraction as possible by climbing over Brittany, playing with Kyler's hair because he knows he hates it, asking questions, and standing up, only to fall back down. He had been getting increasingly worse at sitting still and paying attention, and his sleep pattern was virtually non-existent. It had become so bad that Santana was becoming convinced that he was not just an over-active child. She made a mental note to talk to Brittany about it. Twenty minutes later, Brittany and Santana witnessed their children fight for the first time. It was both highly amusing and mildly worrying.

"Jesus STOP" Kyler yelled, pushing his brother off him roughly.

"Ow" Jesus cried unconvincingly, falling onto the couch. "Don't push me!" he stood up and shoved Kyler with all his strength, nearly falling off the couch as Kyler fell onto Santana.

"You're not letting us watch. You keep falling on me. Just SIT DOWN" Kyler stood up as Jesus did, prepared for another push. Brittany put her hands out in case either of them fell.

"This movie is boring. It doesn't even have any songs"

"It has songs"

"Put that thing back or so help me does not count" Jesus rolled his eyes and Santana had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from laughing.

"That's not what the song is called." Kyler said angrily. Jesus took a step forward like he was going to attack Kyler again.

"I know what it's called. It's a stupid name."

"Okay" Brittany said, picking Jesus up and placing him on the floor. "Calm down guys. Jesus we don't say stupid."

"It's a stupid-"

"Jesus Sawyer" Santana said sharply. His eyes shot to her and he bowed his head.

"Sorry mami" he said quietly. She continued to look at him. With a sigh he turned to Brittany. "Sorry mama, sorry Ky." Brittany nodded, accepting his apology. Seeing this, he climbed into her lap and lay his head on her chest, looking at Santana. "Solo estoy aburdo"

Santana smiled. "Aburrido" she corrected.

"Aburrido"

"It's okay to be bored mijo, but you don't have to start fighting."

"Ky pushed me first" he whined, pointing at his brother, whose attention was back on the movie. Santana paused it and his head snapped to her.

"Maamiii"

"You shouldn't have pushed Jesus." Brittany told him sternly. He frowned.

"He was being annoying."

"You still shouldn't have pushed him. Mami and I don't like fighting."

"But he was jumping and falling on me. And he wouldn't sit down and-"

"I don't care Kyler." Brittany frowned at him. "We don't push." He nodded, scooting back so he was tucked into Santana's stomach since she was still lying down.

"Sorry" he whispered.

"Who are you saying sorry to mi amor?" Santana asked gently. He looked back at her and sighed.

"Sorry Jesus. I won't push you again, even if you are being annoying." Jesus nodded, not removing his head from Brittany's chest.

"How about we do something else?" Santana suggested, sitting up.

"Like what?" Jesus asked with excitement.

"Like play a game."

"I like games" Kyler said with a smile, but it fell as he looked back at the tv.

"We can finish later my love. Promise." Brittany told him. He grinned and bounced excitedly.

"What game mami?" Jesus asked, happy he was being given the opportunity to move.

"A little game I like to call cops…" she smirked at Brittany, "and robbers."


Half an hour later, Santana was in stitches as she watched Brittany and Kyler try to catch Jesus. At first Brittany had not been trying very hard, but as the game went on, she realised that she actually could not catch him. He was taking this game very seriously, and was not playing around. Every time she got close to getting him, he's slip between her legs, or crawl under the table. Kyler had actually gotten the closest to catching him, but he had slipped out of his grip. Santana had sacrificed herself by running directly into Brittany's arms just as she was about to catch Jesus, and ever since she had been watching him evade the both of them like a professional. His screams of joy every time one of them missed him only made her laugh harder, and distractedly Brittany long enough for him to get away because she though he was hurt, or genuinely scared. Children crying from over-excitement was a real thing that they had witnessed a few times.

As she was laughing, Santana realised that Jesus had climbed onto the couch, not realising Kyler was behind him. Sobering quickly, she moved to stand, but before she could, Jesus had noticed Kyler, screamed, and launched himself off the couch. Brittany ran forward, catching him before he could land on the coffee table, stumbled as she tried to avoid landing on it herself, and fell to the carpet on her back, Jesus giggling and screaming in her arms. Santana rushed forward.

"Are you okay?" she asked Brittany, picking Jesus up.

Brittany nodded, but didn't move. Her eyes were closed. Santana put Jesus down and bent next to her wife.

"B" she brushed a few fingers over her red cheeks. "Are you okay?"

"I think so. I hit my back pretty hard, but I think I'll be fine." Santana nodded. "I may have scraped my elbows."

"Let me see." She lifted one of Brittany's arms, and sure enough, there was a nasty carpet burn, a few drops of blood running down her now raised arm. Santana sighed. "I'm sorry baby" she kissed next to the scrape. "I'll get some stuff to clean you up."

"Jesus" Santana said as she returned with the disinfectant and some cotton wool. "What you did was very dangerous. If mama hadn't caught you…" she took in a deep breath. "If mama hadn't caught you, you would have gotten hurt. Very, very badly." He nodded solemnly. "Can you see how mama got hurt?"

"I'm sorry mama" he cried, sitting next to Brittany, who had yet to sit up.

"It's okay bud" she said, opening her eyes. "Don't do it again though okay? You have to be careful." He nodded and kissed her forehead making her smile.

"I'll be careful."

As Santana knelt next to Brittany, preparing to clean her elbow, she smiled at how sweet Jesus was, hoping he had really learned his lesson. They had no idea that this was the start of a common trend.


Since Brittany's back was genuinely hurt, Santana decided to calm the boys down and get them ready for bed. It was still a bit early, since it was barely six, but she didn't like the flushed look on Brittany's face. She figured it was safer for Brittany to rest her back for the rest of the night.

Once they were bathed and had eaten, she left them in their rooms playing to go check on Brittany.

"How are you feeling baby?" She asked. Brittany was lying on her stomach with a hot water bottle on her lower back.

"Still hurts a bit when I move."

"Are you sure you don't want to get it checked out?"

"No." Brittany lifted her head high enough to shake it, then dropped it back onto the bed. "I'll probably just have a bruise tomorrow."

"Beebee" Santana shook her head, walking to the foot of the bed and caressing the back of Brittany thigh. "Let's just go check it out and make sure."

"It's going to be such a hassle going to the hospital babe." Brittany whined. "I'm not in that much pain."

"And I don't want to wait for you to get there."

"Santana" Brittany giggled. "Come here." She groaned as she scooted to the side.

"Stop moving!" Santana cried, hastily climbing onto the bed. "The bed's big enough."

"Come here" Brittany repeated. Sighing, Santana lay down next to Brittany, gently placing her hand on the hot water bottle. Brittany sighed happily. "You know I love it when you fuss over me."

"Really?" Santana asked, frowning slightly. "You like it when I'm worried about you?"

"Yeah." Brittany grinned. "I mean I don't like that you're worried, but I like that if you are going to be worried, that it's about me."

Santana's frown deepened.

"What?"

"It's nice that after all this time you still feel so protective over me. Like you were in high school."

"Course I am." Santana said, still slightly confused.

"I don't know..." Brittany shrugged. "It could have been that you didn't think I could take care of myself. Like my parents..." Brittany trailed off, eyes shifting away from Santana's.

"B" Santana lifted her hand from the hot water bottle, resting it instead on Brittany's cheek. "You should call them."

"And tell them what?" Brittany looked back at Santana. "Hi mum and dad, I'm still mad at you, and don't want to talk to you or see you."

Santana pressed her lips together and inched closer to Brittany.

"Yeah" she said. "It could help you let go of some of your anger."

"I don't want to fight with them."

"Maybe you should. Britt I know you don't like confrontation but you have to let this out. Yell at your mum if you want. Tell everything I know you want to tell her..."

Santana stopped talking as Brittany shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I was really mean to her, back at the hotel. I was so angry...it felt..." She shook her head. "I didn't like feeling like that. Bitter and...vile."

"So you're just going to keep it in?"

Brittany shrugged again.

"You have to do something baby."

"Like what?" Brittany asked quietly.

Santana took a minute to think. She'd never really thought about how she got her stress out. She didn't run or exercise and she definitely didn't talk about it, so she wasn't sure what to tell Brittany. Santana was more of a, express your anger in the moment type of person. She complained a lot, she spoke what was on her mind and worried about the consequences...well never. She never worried about the consequences. But if she had to guess that was how she coped with her stress. She let it out in the moment. It was only really big things, big things like being gay and in love with your best friend, that she kept to herslef and stuffed down.

Brittany on the other hand, was more concerned with other people's feelings than expressing her own. She didn't whine or bitch at people. She didn't yell or have outbursts. She processed it all in her mind. She had her feelings internally, and dealt with them internally, because she didn't want to burden or upset anyone else. On very few occasions did Brittany lose her temper, and now that she had, even though she was still angry, she was feeling guilty about it.

So Santana needed to figure out how to help Brittany express what she was feeling without the fear of hurting anyone's feelings.

They lay there for a while, with Santana thinking and Brittany watching her think. Santana was letting her fingers idly brush up and down Brittany's back, staring at the curtain behind Brittany.

Brittany giggled.

"What?" Santana asked, smiling.

"I like that I can see how hard you're thinking." Brittany moved forward, wincing slightly, and kissed Santana.

"You're weird." Santana giggled. "But kiss me again."

Brittany obliged. As she settled back down, she let out a low groan.

"I hope this isn't serious, like taking me out of dancing for a while."

"Oh!" Santana sat up excitedly. "That's what you should do?"

"What?" Brittany frowned up at her.

"Dance B. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, it's so obvious. You need to dance."

"Why?"

"To let your feelings out. That's how you've always done it. When you're feeling things you dance. Happy dance, sad dance, now you have to do an angry dance."

Brittany bit her bottom lip, thinking.

"Maybe."

"Not maybe. If your back's not broken, I'm taking you to the studio tomorrow myself."


Brittany could list hundreds of reasons why she loved Santana. If someone honestly asked her to, she could actually write a full, comprehensive list of individual reasons why she loved Santana. She could write multiple bullet points under every reason, detailing the many other reasons why she loved that particular thing. In high school when she was bored in class, she would look at Santana and point out some of those reasons to herself. It was probably why she was so good at reading Santana's emotions without her even saying a word. She spent countless hours just watching how she reacted to different situations, from bored, to annoyed, to slightly irritated, begrudgingly happy, genuinely happy, and 'Brittany' happy. Brittany happy was Brittany's favourite emotion on Santana. Her lips were always slightly upturned, like a smile was lurking just under the surface. When she did smile, small crinkles would appear on the bridge of her nose, her whole body would relax so that her walk was really a saunter, and her eyes were focused on one thing, usually Brittany, instead of constantly on the look-out for judgement. Her laugh was a little higher than her usual one, and sometimes her tongue would poke out between her teeth while she giggled. She was cute and innocent and playful, and it was this Santana that betrayed her love for Brittany, even when she tried to convince her that she wasn't gay, or in love with her. When she told Brittany that it was just practice, or just because Puck was busy, Brittany would close her eyes and picture Santana when she was 'Brittany' happy, knowing that there was no way she was mistaken. No way she was confused or reading too much into things. Even if she ignored how Santana reacted to her kisses, and her touches, there was no ignoring how she seemed to come into herself around Brittany. How her eyes were brighter and full of mischief, how she sometimes bounced on the balls of her feet like she was just too excited to contain herself, even if all they were doing was standing in the park, or in the kitchen in Santana's house as Brittany tried to cook for her. Brittany knew, with unwavering certainty, that Santana loved her. That she was in love with her, because yes, if anyone understood that there was a difference between loving someone and being in love with them, it was Brittany. Fourteen years of watching someone, studying them the way Brittany did Santana, memorizing them, tended to only strengthen such certainty.

It was these facts, that kept Brittany from panicking, or getting angry, or upset, or really, from having any reaction other than bursting into laughter, when one of her friends showed her an article about Santana's affair with an up and coming musician who was just signed by her label. It was a ludicrous suggestion, and there wasn't even a flicker of doubt in Brittany's mind that it was a lie. Just the stupid tabloids trying to get them to react. She was ready to call Santana to laugh about it, when she saw the picture of the woman Santana was allegedly sleeping with, and paused. She still knew the news was fake, but it unsettled her none the less. Maybe it was because Brittany had never seen Santana interact with Dani. She had never been able to watch and determine how much Santana liked Dani, or how much Dani liked Santana. She didn't know how Santana reacted to Dani's kisses, or touches, or if her nose wrinkled when she was around. She simply didn't know. And not knowing something about Santana unsettled her. In no universe would she entertain the thought that Santana would cheat on her. Not with anyone in the world. Not with anyone in any world. But Brittany couldn't help being jealous.

For the rest of the day she remained quiet, only speaking to tell people that no, Santana was not cheating on her. By the time she was heading home she had managed to talk herself out of her jealousy, or so she told herself. After all, it wasn't like she envied Dani. Why would she? She was married to Santana, they had two amazing sons together, and she got to go to sleep and wake up with Santana every day. Dani didn't. So she wasn't jealous, maybe the better word was irritated. Nobody likes their wife's ex hanging around them, working with them closely, spending countless hours locked up together in a room. It was normal for her not to be thrilled by this news. With that settled, she got out of her car, which she had been sitting in for thirty minutes thinking, and walked into the house.

As usual, she dropped all her things on the table in the foyer, and listened. She liked to take a few minutes to get out of 'work mode' and into 'family mode' before she interacted with her children, because she remembered how she used to feel when she'd be so excited to see her father when he came home from work, and he would simply give her a 'hi honey B' and go to his room for hours. The excitement she felt would always extinguish painfully, and she'd sit by herself on the front steps and wonder what she did wrong and how she could greet him differently the next day, to make him happy to see her. It didn't matter that he would come out a while later, grab her into a hug and then play with her for two hours. All she would remember was that when he came home from work, he was not happy to see her. She never wanted her sons to feel that way. She wanted them to always feel like they were her favourite people. She wanted them to be confident in how she felt about them. To know that no matter what time it was, day it was, or what she had been doing that day, they could trust that she would treat them the way she always did. She wanted to give them that consistency.

It wasn't hard for her to know where her family was. They were always making so much noise that Brittany was always grateful they didn't have neighbours close enough to complain. Santana got off work earlier than her on most days, so she would pick the boys from Puck's at 2 in the afternoon. Puck worked at a gym as a personal trainer, and he was all too willing to take Jesus and Kyler in to work with him. They had a day care centre there, and he said it helped him with the ladies. Santana had threatened to put up pictures of Puck in a dress all around the gym, and tell every woman there that he was a cross-dresser if he ever used her sons to pick up women.

Today though, Santana stayed home with them instead of dropping them off at Puck's. Now that Brittany was back to work and somewhat getting back to normal after an entire months staying home, Santana had started heading back too. She only worked a few hours, but soon the work would pick up and she wouldn't be able to spend that much time at home with the boys. So instead of going in today, Brittany had convinced her to stay home with them. She would go in to the music studio with them tomorrow.

Jesus and Kyler loved going with their mami to work because everyone there treated them like royalty. Jesus seemed to be really interested in the music. He would sit quietly for hours and just watch and listen as Santana and her band experimented with new concepts as they tried to write new songs, and he would pay close attention every time Santana or her sound designer used the sound board. It was amazing to watch a kid who was usually so hyper he would lose track of a conversation while it was happening, sit and absorb information like that for hours without complaint.

Brittany was brought out of her thoughts as one of her sons collided with her leg, drenching her sweat pants in water.

"Hi buddy" she said happily, laughing as he tightened his hold on her leg. She ran her hand through his dripping hair and he lifted his head to look at her. "Hi Jesus" she amended, now sure which twin he was.

"Hi mama" Jesus said excitedly. "We're swimming"

"You are?" she asked, laughing again. It was so amusing when her kids pointed out something obvious to her, like without their explanation she would have no idea what was going on. Jesus nodded, still not letting go of her leg, but now attempting to climb her.

"Ky is in practice with mami, but we were playing a game before." Brittany gave him her hand so he could use it to pull himself up. She didn't mind getting wet, and really, she wanted to see how high he could climb before she had to help him.

"What's the game called?"

Jesus was silent for a while, struggling to lift himself onto Brittany's waist. She was about to pull him up when he put one leg back on the floor, the other just above her knee, both hands holding onto her hand and pulled himself up, climbing like one does at rock climbing, using her hand like a rope. She laughed as he put his leg on her stomach, tightening her muscles so he didn't hurt her.

"It doesn't have a name. It's about sharks and dolphins and aquaman."

Now that Brittany was sure he wasn't going to fall, she walked into the living room. "Oh let me guess…you were the shark?"

"Yeah!" Jesus exclaimed, trying to climb onto her shoulders. Deciding this was high enough for him to go on his own, Brittany lifted him into the air, relishing in his squeals of delight, and placed him on her shoulders, holding both his hands to make sure he didn't lean back too far.

"I bet you made an awesome shark. Will you play the game again when Ky finishes training?"

"Yeah mami said I have to wait twenty minutes, then she was going to be the princess who has to be saved from the shark, and Ky was going to be aquaman, and I was going to be the shark. She said if you came home in time, you could be the other shark, and I could be a good shark who tries to help aquaman."

It often happened that Brittany found herself genuinely excited to play a game her sons had invented. Not just because she liked playing with them, but because the game itself sounded like a lot of fun. Santana teased her saying it was because she had the imagination of a three year old anyway, so of course her sons' ideas sounded fun to her. Brittany couldn't really disagree.

"That," she said, dipping her hands behind her shoulders so that Jesus was hanging almost upside down, "sounds like the most amazing game ever. Let me go get my swimming costume." She lifted him off her and onto the floor, where he promptly ran back outside to the pool, and made her way upstairs.

When she was changed into her bikini, she went down to the pool. For a few minutes she watched as Santana walked the length of the pool back and forth as Kyler made laps, timer in her hand, and eyes watching him carefully. Santana had realised in Australia that Jesus had an affinity for all things water sports. They had taught both boys to swim, but Kyler was not just able to swim, he was good at swimming. He was fast and he could hold his breath for longer than they thought he should be able to at three years old. When they got back home, Kyler had asked if Santana could teach him how to swim really fast like her. So she had started teaching him the different strokes. He picked those up in a little over a month, and wanted to learn more, so Santana had talked to a swim trainer about the best way to train him. She wanted to do it herself and not have a stranger instructing her son, pushing him to win without caring if he was still having fun.

So she read a bunch of books on training children, and once a week had meetings with the trainer, who watched Kyler swim and made notes on where he could improve, which he gave to Santana. Now two months later, Kyler was swimming the length of their pool, fifteen minute sessions spent on each stroke, with one timed lap at the end of each session, every other day, and he loved it. He and Santana spent a lot of time watching Olympic swimmers, Santana told him about the fastest swimmers around the world and what their times were, and now Kyler's dream was to be like Michael Phelps. Jesus usually joined his brother in the pool, but not always. Santana had to actually watch Kyler's form, so she felt uneasy having Jesus in the pool when she wasn't giving him her full attention. So as an alternative, she usually had him on her shoulders, holding the timer and pressing it whenever Santana told him. She'd ask him to shout out her instructions to Kyler, or to run along beside the pool and see if he could beat him. That way, he didn't feel left out. In between all the sessions, there was 'rest time' which Santana filled with games. This was to both include Jesus, so he had time in the pool, and to keep Kyler relaxed and having fun. She didn't want him to only associate pools with training.

Brittany really couldn't believe how amazing Santana was as a mother. She loved to watch her just being a mum. Cooking healthy but delicious food for them, playing with them, even just watching tv. Santana was without a doubt the best mother Brittany had ever seen, and she wasn't being biased. Quinn, Puck, Eve, and so many of their other friends had said it as well. Jesus and Kyler were really Santana's entire world, and she was delivering on her promise to give them everything they could ever need.

Again Brittany was brought from her thoughts by Jesus colliding with her. He was drier now, but his hair was still dripping. She ran her hand through it again, wondering if she should bring up a haircut again. It was really getting long.

"Mama can we go in the pool and…a…and I go on…in…you back?" he asked her, already pulling her to the pool. She smiled. When the twins got too excited, their speech suffered. Usually they were really clear when they spoke. They still pronounced things in cute ways, sometimes not even saying a complete word, but you could still understand what they were saying. When they were excited though, they stammered, and took in breaths in the middle of a word so you couldn't hear it, and confused some words for others, making it a lot harder for her to understand them.

"You want me to carry you on my back while I swim?" she clarified.

"Yeah" Jesus said absently, pushing her to get into the pool.

"Okay…but don't push buddy…remember, we don't push in the pool." Jesus removed his hands from the back of her legs and nodded.

"Sorry mama"

Brittany smiled at him, then took a few more steps and jumped into the pool. She heard Jesus' scream as the water splashed him. The initial shock of the water almost forced her to expel all her air, but only a few bubbles escaped. She pushed off the floor and emerged from the water with a loud gasp. Jesus was laughing a foot from the edge. They always told them to keep some distance from the edge so they didn't accidentally fall in.

"Mama you hair" he giggled. Brittany realised she had forgotten to tie it up into a pony, so it was probably sticking up all over the place. She smoothed some of it out of her face and swam away from the edge.

"Come in Jesus."

Jesus didn't even hesitate. He took a step so he was at the edge of the pool, and then launched himself into the pool. Brittany caught him just as his head went under. He could swim, and wasn't scared, but he was not as good as Kyler, and hadn't really mastered holding his breath and expelling water from his nose so it didn't sting. Brittany didn't want him under water for too long.

"Good job Mijo" Santana yelled, making her way back down the pool as Kyler swam towards them.

"Did you see mami?" Jesus asked excitedly, arms tight around Brittany's neck. She kissed his cheek.

"I did" Santana said with a huge smile. "That was very cool."

Jesus nodded proudly. "Mama caught me" he informed her.

"Did she?" Santana asked. Jesus nodded. "That's very cool of her too huh?"

"Yeah" Jesus looked at Brittany like she had just done magic.

"Hi baby" Santana said to Brittany, blowing her a kiss as she walked past.

"Hi my love. How was your day?"

"Good. We had fun in the studio today right Jesus?" Jesus nodded vigorously. "Why don't you tell mama what you did?"

"I played the drums" Jesus said to Brittany. Brittany raised her eyebrows and looked at Santana, who nodded.

"He played the drums, like actually played. Eddie taught him like a beginner's beat or something, and he did it."

"Wow Jesus" Brittany said, hugging him and kissing him several times. "Well done buddy. I'm so proud of you. Did you have fun?"

Jesus nodded again. "I had fun. I like the drums"

Brittany and Santana nodded. "Yes you do" Britany said.

"I also like the piano, and the guitar, and the violin"

Brittany laughed. "You like all the instruments huh?"

Jesus bounced in her arms and lifted his hands, water splashing a bit, "All the instooments" he exclaimed. Santana and Brittany laughed.

"He'll be done on the next lap B" Santana shouted as she jogged to catch up with Kyler. Brittany nodded.

"Okay little man, how about we swim the next one with your brother?" Jesus nodded with a smile. She moved him onto her back and lazily swam to the end of the pool where Kyler was.


After nice warm showers, both boys were clean and chlorine free, though it had been some work to get Kyler to wash his hair. Now Brittany was sitting with them in the booster chairs at the kitchen island as Santana made them dinner. There was some children's music playing from the Bluetooth speaker, but the volume was low. Kyler and Jesus were talking about the game they had played in the pool, though to Brittany it sounded more like a blockbuster action movie, so she and Santana were free to talk.

"How was your day B, you never told me."

"Uh…interesting" Brittany said. She wasn't sure how to bring up the things that had been consuming her day.

"Oh yeah?" Santana asked, bringing the cutting board over to the island so she could face Brittany while she chopped vegetables.

"Mmmhh" Brittany hummed, watching Santana's hand.

"Why's that?"

"Found out you were cheating on me"

Santana's head snapped up, her hands frozen with the knife halfway through a carrot. "What?" she croaked.

"It's all over the internet." Brittany said, allowing a smile to grace her lips so Santana knew she didn't believe it. She watched Santana relax, her fingers bringing the knife down through the carrot and continuing to cut.

"Damn…they busted me" she said. Brittany laughed. "Who was it with?"

"Trying to make sure they didn't get the right girl?" Brittany joked. Santana smirked.

"Who said there's only one?" She quipped. Brittany laughed again. "So who was it?" Brittany hesitated, and Santana raised her head to look at her. "B?" Brittany felt slightly panicked. All of her earlier arguments in support of her not being jealous seemed moot now. She couldn't deny she was jealous if she couldn't even bring herself to say the name. She had never said it out loud. She'd thought it multiple times, but she had never said it. There hadn't ever been any reason to. "Britt" Santana said, concerned now. "What's wrong? You're scaring me. Who was it?"

"Your ex" was all she could say. Santana frowned.

"My ex…what do you…." She trailed off as realisation hit her. "Dani?" Brittany nodded. "Well that's stupid. How would they even come to that conclusion? I haven't seen her in 9 years."

"She signed with your label. She moved here last week, according to the article. In an interview she said she was excited to be coming to work with you. Called you 'an old friend' in a way that the article said held a lot of meaning."

"What the hell?" Santana said, dropping the knife and crossing her arms. "What article?"

Brittany went to get her phone from the living room, and pulled up the article. When Santana was done reading it, she looked up at Brittany.

"I didn't know she was coming babe. I would have told you I swear."

"I know babe don't worry about it. I'm not mad at you or anything. I was just joking about it remember? I know the article is lying."

Santana released a long breath. "Where did they get this picture?" she asked, looking down at a picture of her and Dani in their old uniforms from when they worked at the diner in New York. "I don't even remember this picture. It must have been Dani's" Brittany didn't say anything, and for a long time Santana looked at the article. "Are you sure you're okay Brittany?" she asked, putting the phone down. "It's okay if you aren't. I wouldn't be, if like...I don't know, Artie started working with you and was saying things like 'I can't wait to get back to the fun we used to have'."

Brittany took a moment to think. She didn't want Santana to think she was jealous or insecure, but she didn't want to lie.

"I don't know, if I'm being honest. I know you didn't and aren't going to cheat on me. I'm not threatened by her in any way, so I'm not jealous. But….I guess I am a bit uncomfortable with the idea of it. I don't know her, or what you were like with her. I never saw you guys together. I don't know if she's coming back to try and get you back, or to mess with us, or if she really just likes being your friend."

Santana nodded and moved around the island, wiping her hands on a towel. She turned Brittany's chair and parted her legs so she could stand between them.

"I know you said you aren't worried about it, but I want to say this anyway." She took Brittany's hands in hers and lifted them to her chest. "I will never, ever cheat on you Brittany. I will never even be tempted to cheat on you. I cannot be won back by anyone, I cannot be seduced, or convinced to leave you. I am 100 percent yours okay? Like you said all those years ago, you can't recreate what you and I have."

Brittany took in a deep breath and relaxed. She already knew everything Santana was telling her, but hearing it helped pacify the irrational fear inside of her. Santana never lied to her.

"And what you're saying about not knowing how we were together makes sense." Santana went on. "You can't decide how you feel about something you don't know anything about." Brittany nodded, loving in this moment that Santana always understood her so well. Santana kissed her quickly a few times, making Brittany giggle, then walked back to the other side of the island and resumed cutting. "You should come with me tomorrow and meet her. If the first time I see her after all these years is with you, then if she is entertaining some thoughts of 'getting me back'" she said it sarcastically, lifting one hand to make air quotes. Brittany couldn't help but smile. "Then seeing us together will get rid of them quick and easy."

"Okay" Brittany said. "I'll call in sick or something, get Syth to cover for me."

Santana nodded. "Okay done. Also, I'll tell the label that I'll only work with her for as long as you're comfortable with."

Brittany was slightly shocked by that. "What if they don't give you a choice?" Santana raised her head and looked at her incredulously. Brittany laughed. "What?" She asked, though she was sure she knew what already.

"Snixx always has a choice" Santana said seriously. Brittany couldn't help but roll her eyes. She leaned down and kissed Kyler's head.

"Your mami is loco" she whispered into his hair. Kyler giggled.

"Loco" he agreed with a nod.

"Hey" Santana said, pointing the knife at Brittany and then Kyler. "This loco mami is slaving away, making her family dinner."

Brittany, Kyler and Jesus laughed. "And we love her so much right?" Brittany asked. Both boys nodded.

"This much" Jesus said, stretching his arms wide.

"No" Kyler said. "Mama down please." Brittany lifted Kyler out of his booster chair and he ran to the kitchen wall. "We love you this much." He touched the wall, and then ran to the glass door on the other side of the room. When he touched the glass he turned to his mothers with a proud smile.

"Wow" Brittany said. "That's a lot" Kyler nodded and made his way back to his chair, which Brittany lifted him into. Santana leaned over the counter and kissed Kyler's head, then Jesus'.

"I love you that much too my babies. I love you that much and more."