CHAPTER 6
A/N: Thanks to kelenhermitha, DarkSouls3777, May1217 and the Guest for their very nice reviews! Keep them coming and I'm really glad you enjoy the story! This chapter includes both Santana's and Brittany's points of view. Starting with Britt's, for at least half of the chapter. So here we go, let's introduce the Lopez-Pierce baby... Read until the very end to understand the whole thing ;-)
AT THE HOSPITAL (BRITTANY POV)
We left the house in such a hurry… I hope I took everything we need. But given Santana's blood pressure issues, we already packed a bag a few weeks ago, in case of an early delivery so… it should be fine. I never drove this fast in my life, I'm pretty sure that I committed many traffic violations on the way to the hospital. Although there was actually no rush… The Doctor said that Santana is in labour but that it might take a while, even though she's having strong contractions. They installed her in a bed a couple of hours ago and I'm sitting right next to her, holding her hand.
"Oooow!" she lets out a painful moan, squeezing my hand so hard that I'm scared she's going to break it.
"You're doing great, babe" I whisper, not really sure what else to say… I wish I could take her pain away.
"Holy crap! You would think that after a couple of hours I would get used to this pain but no… it still hurts like a bitch! When the fuck is she going to come out of me?" She says.
"I'm sorry, honey…" I say, brushing her hair behind her ear. "They did tell us that it could take a while… We have to be patient…"
"Easy for you to say, Britt! You're not the one feeling like your insides are being both punched and twisted at the same time!" She complains.
"I know, baby… and I'm really proud of you, you're being very brave! Just focus on the fact that soon we will have a little girl to take home with us, San… We'll have our own family. It's just one day of pain…"
That thought seems to bring her some peace until another contraction comes and she starts swearing in Spanish. She really must hurt bad because I have never heard those swear words before, I really thought I would have heard them all by now. And God knows that when she switches to Spanish, it's never good.
Doctor Anderson suddenly comes in the room with a nurse. As Doctor Montgomery is not here yet, he's monitoring Santana for now. He's a 50 something year old man with white hair and I can tell that Santana doesn't like him very much.
"How are you holding up, Santana?" He asks.
"I'm so over this and it hasn't even started yet! Can't you accelerate this whole damn thing?" She asks.
"I'm sorry… it's progressing as it should but we still need to wait for you to be fully dilated. That can take a few hours I'm afraid".
She looks at me with despair in her eyes before addressing him: "Can you at least get me the fucking epidural, please?"
A WHILE LATER – AT THE HOSPITAL
"OOOWW" she says again, having a particularly strong contraction. I kiss her forehead and caress her hair to bring her some comfort but all I get back is an angry look. I don't dare to say anything because I know that it's not a good idea when she has that look. But I question her with my eyes.
"How the fuck did you convince me to do this, Britt? Was I drunk when I agreed to this?"
It's true that I'm actually the one who brought up the baby talk. San also wanted children "at some point" as she said but when we started discussing it, she didn't want to have one so soon. She kept saying that we had time and that she wanted to enjoy being just the two of us for a few more years. But I didn't let it go so easily. I brought it up a few times because working with amazing kids at the dance school just really made me want to have one of my own.
I actually think it's seeing me interacting with my youngest students that convinced her to have a child. The fact that she's the one who carried this baby was mainly because of practical reasons. As a writer – whether it was to compose songs or write scripts – Santana could work from home and whenever she felt like it. It was not the same for me. It would have been difficult to carry on as a dancer and dance teacher if I was pregnant. And even though the dance school was off to a great start, it was still too new, I couldn't abandon Mike and leave him alone to run it. We both invested a lot of money in the school and it was just too risky.
"Fucking hell!" San shouts, after yet another contraction. "GET OUT OF ME!" she suddenly says, addressing our baby girl inside her belly. "I'll give you everything you want, just name your fucking price! You want Barbie dolls? Sweets? Money? A dog? I'll even get you a car for your 16th birthday if that's what you want, how's that?"
EVEN LATER – AT THE HOSPITAL
Doctor Anderson has come back to the room, to announce us that Doctor Montgomery will be there soon. I hope this will make Santana relax a bit…
"Where's my fucking epidural?" Santana asks.
"Hum…Santana, are you sure you want to have an epidural? Some women regret making that choice, because it prevents them from fully experiencing the joy of giving birth" he says, trying to convince her.
As soon as he says this, I hold my head in my hands because I know that Santana is going to lose it.
"THE JOY"? Are you fucking kidding me? Who on earth would want to experience this pain for hours if they don't have to? And what would you possibly know about the joy of giving birth? Have you ever had to go through this, do you have a hidden vagina I don't know about? NO? THEN GET ME THE FUCKING EPIDURAL. NOW!" she says, before swearing more in Spanish.
I send an apologetic look to the Doctor. I decide not to say anything to him though because if I do, I know that Santana will be mad at me for apologizing on her behalf. And right now, I just want to be there for my wife and keep her as comfortable as possible in this situation.
She's still shouting in Spanish, making the Doctor run out of the room very fast. Santana turns to me: "I'm telling you Britt, after this, you will owe me big time. So you better be prepared to get up in the middle of the night when your daughter cries."
So I guess I was right the other day, when something is wrong, it's going to be my daughter every time...
A FEW HOURS LATER - AT THE HOSPITAL
My heart is beating fast as I'm trying to process what just happened. I witnessed the birth of my daughter and that was the most amazing thing I have ever seen… I know that I will never forget this life-changing moment... Santana was so strong and brave through it all, I'm so proud of her and more in love than ever... Doctor Montgomery just placed our baby on Santana's chest and I'm too stunned to say anything. So I just observe my wife and baby interacting together for the first time. Santana is smiling while crying at the same time, looking at our little girl with so much love in her eyes. She's carefully playing with her tiny hand and kissing her forehead.
"Hi baby girl… I'm your mama… I'm the one you were kicking all the time!" she says with a chuckle.
Our baby is just so beautiful, she has the cutest face and thin darkish hair. Even though I had 9 months to prepare for this, I feel completely overwhelmed. Happy tears fall down my cheeks as I realize that both that amazing woman and beautiful baby are mine.
Santana turns to me and asks with a gigantic smile: "Britt, you want to hold her?"
I just nod, too emotional to speak yet.
"This is your mommy" she says as she carefully places our little girl in my arms.
"Hi baby…" I just manage to whisper, holding her for the very first time. I can't help but smile big. How did I get so lucky? I give her a soft kiss and turn to Santana, who is looking at us in adoration.
I shake my head in disbelief, completely impressed by what my wife managed to do: "You actually made her, San… and she's perfect…" I say, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Thank you for making me a mom…" I whisper between tears, before kissing her lips. "I love you so much."
"I love you too, Britt…" she says with the sweetest smile.
We stay in silence for a few minutes. We both look at this little wonder: her facial features, her tiny fingers, tiny feet… until Santana breaks the silence: "Britt, she needs a name… Now that you have met her, what do you think about the name we picked? Does it suit her?"
"It does." I say, smiling. "It suits her perfectly."
LATER THAT DAY – AT THE HOSPITAL (SANTANA POV)
I'm exhausted as hell but also completely overwhelmed. I still can't believe that I actually gave life to someone, that sounds completely surreal. When she was in my belly, I could feel her but now I can see her, with my own eyes… She's this whole tiny person and she's ours... I feel the same overwhelming happiness I felt when Brittany accepted to marry me. It's the beginning of another wonderful chapter in our lives and... God, I just can't believe that she's finally here with us.
"She's so cute I want to eat her up" Quinn says.
Quinn has been monopolizing the baby for a while but I can't blame her, who could resist this cute daughter of mine?
"I know, right?" Britt comments. "She's the sweetest bit of heaven, she's my little sugar!"
"Fabray, you're the first one to know about the birth because you're our oldest friend" I say. "But remember that you're supposed to take pictures of us so that we can use one to announce the birth to everyone else? No offense but I would also like to tell our families and the rest of our friends."
"Right, right… Sorry…" She answers. "I got distracted by this precious little thing. Let's do it!"
After what feels like 200 takes, we finally pick a picture that shows Brittany and me sitting next to each other on the hospital bed, holding the baby together, all smiles.
I wish I could freeze this moment forever. I take my phone to send the picture and warn everybody.
GROUP MESSAGE TO "PEOPLE I ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT": Sofia Lopez-Pierce was born on August 29 at 15:35 - 20 inches and 7lbs 2ozs of love. Mommies couldn't be happier and you're welcome to meet our little wonder at your earliest convenience.
Barely a minute later, my phone is about to explode as I get dozens of messages.
FROM "MOM": Mija, she's absolutely beautiful! You did an amazing job! Congratulations, I am so happy for you and Brittany. Celebrate this moment, it's the beginning of a new life! We'll look for flights to come ASAP, give Sofia a kiss for us!
FROM "ABUELA": Dios mio, she's such an angel! She looks a lot like your mom when she was a baby! I'm so proud and happy for you, Santana. And you picked a beautiful name! Send my love to Brittany. I will see you all very soon, I will make the trip with your parents!
FROM "WHEEZY": Congratulations, girls! My goddaughter is such a beauty! She's going to be a little heartbreaker! I can't wait to meet her soon! The tour is ending in 1 week and the first thing I'll do afterwards is getting my butt to L.A. to meet Sofia. Bless you all!
FROM "PUCK": Well done, Lopez! She'll make a lot of heads turn later! Now let's just hope that temper-wise, she takes after Britt! Congrats to you both! I'll come meet the little one soon, when I'm back from my mission.
FROM "OTHER ASIAN": Definitely a future ballerina, congrats Britt and San! Ready to come meet my sweet goddaughter. A kiss from Uncle Mike.
FROM "GAY BERRY": A star is born! She's the cutest baby I have ever seen! Congratulations, mommies! I wish you lots of happiness and can't wait to meet her next time I'm in L.A.
FROM "WHEELS": She already knows how to pose for the camera! She's really cute and I'm very happy for you, congrats to you both! I'll share the good news with the cast!
A FEW DAYS LATER – AT HOME
Sofia and I were discharged from the hospital and it's so good to be finally home. Our parents and my Abuela are all landing in L.A. tomorrow evening and will stay with us for a while. I'm already exhausted at the idea of having all these people in our house but at the same time, I can't wait to share this with them. And I think that they will be of great help. Brittany and I are so new to this, we still need to learn how to navigate our new normal.
Brittany is holding Sofia, and is about to show her her own bedroom, as I follow closely behind her. I always thought that she did a fantastic job decorating that room for her, it really looks great. But now that there is an actual baby in it, it just feels… complete.
I sit on the chair in her bedroom to breastfeed Sofia as Brittany is handing her to me. It still feels a bit weird to do that but at the same time I know that I am privileged to have such an intimate contact with her. I could watch her for hours. Who knew something so little could eat so much though!
Once I'm done, I stay in the chair and just watch Brittany taking care of her. She's such a great mom already, so gentle and patient… and she has the biggest smile plastered on her face every time she's with her.
"I love you so much" I hear her say to our little girl as she gives her a kiss. "You're the sweetest baby ever! Who's my little sugar? Yes, yes… it's you!" She laughs.
"You know… if you keep calling her like that, she's going to think that's her name" I comment.
A/N: What did you think about this chapter? About the name… I have no idea why but I have had the name "Sofia" in my mind for a few chapters already. I liked the idea of having a name starting with "S", because it's the same first letter as in Santana, it's the first letter of Brittany's middle name and also it's the same first letter a in… Sugar! I like the whole idea of Sugar being their child from the future. But I cannot picture them officially name their child "Sugar". However, it could come from a sweet nickname given by Brittany. And I still feel that even though Santana hated the names suggested by Abuela, she liked the idea of a Spanish name and the meaning behind this one: "wisdom". Anyway, curious to see your reactions, don't hesitate to review! Another note I want to add, about the group messages Santana sent to announce the birth of the baby: I just mentioned a few of the answers she received, but of course other Glee members have reacted too. The next chapter is going to be a funny one as it will describe how they are dealing with short nights and a crying baby…
