CHAPTER 16

A/N: Thanks to Mostories, Olivia, Berrylucky5 and DarkSouls3777 for their reviews.


A FEW DAYS LATER - AT THE RECORDING STUDIO

"Joe, my man! How is it going?" I ask, spotting him in the hall.

"Santana, hi!" He replies, offering his fist bump. "Oh… Who do we have here, is this the famous Brittany?"

"Yep, the one and only!" I reply.

"Nice to finally meet you, Brittany!" He says, shaking her hand. "This one here doesn't shut up about you! So… are you ready to record your duet for your baby girl?"

"We sure are!" I reply enthusiastically.

"Awesome! You can go in then, I'll join you in a few minutes." He says.


LATER – AT THE RECORDING STUDIO

After a great session, I walk Brittany out of the studio. I always loved singing with her but it was really special to record that song together. I can't wait for the final cut.

"Thanks for making me do this, it was really amazing!" She says with one of those wide smiles that I love so much.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it! You sang beautifully, babe! I think it's going to sound really nice."

"You're sure you're not coming back home with me?" She asks as she opens the car door.

"I can't, Britt. I still have to record some back vocals for D'Shon. But I'll see you at home, Joe will give me a lift."


ONE WEEK LATER - AT PARAMOUNT

"So are we all set for shooting episode 2?" I ask Artie.

"Pretty much but there is something I'm a bit worried about." He replies. "Zach is great but except Heather and Harry, the cast is… still inexperienced with choreographed numbers and it takes them forever to learn… They are not quite ready and I'm not sure that they will be by the time we start shooting. And I have to tell you, Santana, it's not like the pilot… This time we are on a very tight schedule, we can't take weeks to film this episode."

"I see…" I sigh. "Well… Can you start with the acting scenes to buy some time?" I ask.

"Of course, yes. But that will just buy us a couple of days… We need to find a way to solve this dance issue." He insists.

"Honestly, Artie… The only one I can think of to save us from this shit is Brittany… I will ask her if she can step in one more time… If she can successfully teach 4 years olds, surely she can handle grown-up actors."


A FEW DAYS LATER - AT HOME

"How on earth do you manage to work out every day?" I ask, panting. "I have done what… like 20 abs…? And I'm dying here!"

"As a dancer, I kind of have to…" Brittany replies. "It's just a matter of habit… It will get easier, you will see! Come on, San… 10 more?"

"No! Britt, I really can't anymore… Please don't torture me!"

"As you wish, but let me remind you that you're the one that was almost crying the other day about how you wanted to get your pre-pregnancy body back… And for the record, I told you that you were smoking hot either way! But you insisted and asked me to be your coach! And you specifically told me to keep pushing you when you complain. Remember?"

"Fine, I said all that crap… It's just that Sofia is almost one… I have carried this extra belly fat for too long, I want to get rid of it! But right now, I give up…" I say.

"How about we try another strategy to restore your motivation… 10 more and… you get a kiss?" She asks.

"You're a great kisser, Britt but for 10 more, I deserve more than that! I deserve… your pot of gold at least!"

"My pot of gold?" She asks, laughing. "Is that how we call it now? Sorry but to get that, you would need to do 50 more!"

"That's such a rip off!" I complain. "Let's go back to 10 and… at least, you get naked." I say.

"That's not a fair bargain, San." She replies in a serious tone.

I frown at her. "You're really tough at negotiating… Ok, how about… boobs then?" I ask.

"Ok fine… If you do 10 more, I'll show you my boobs." She laughs.

"Deal!" I comment enthusiastically before positioning myself for the excruciating exercises.

"1… 2… 3… 4…" She counts as I'm trying my best. I truly feel exhausted though, as much as I hate to admit it… I'm simply not in shape anymore.

"5…6…" I say despite my heavy breathing, to encourage myself. "7… 7 and… a half…" I whisper in agony before crashing on the ground, unable to move. "I can't, Britt! Seriously, we have to stop for today…"

"Ok, fine… We stop for today and we'll continue tomorrow then…" She says, getting ready to leave the room.

"Hey, don't you forget something?" I ask, pointing at her breast.

"Well, you didn't actually reach 10 so… the deal is off." She replies, in a matter-of-fact way.

"But I did 7.5 abs! So by that logic… I get to see 75% of your boobs!" I protest. "Aren't you a maths genius?"

"And how would I show you 75% exactly?" She asks.

"I don't know… But I get to see one at least! Stop dragging this out, take off your shirt!"

"That's not how it works, Santana." She says, crossing her arms.

I frown again. No boob and she uses my full name? What the fuck did I do?

"You're mean!" I pout.

"I'm not mean." She replies. "Mean would be… I don't know, like… withholding sex until you do your abs or something."

"Wait, what?" I say, suddenly finding the energy to sit up. "You're not serious, right?" I add.

"I don't know… That's a strategy that might actually work on you, now that I think of it..."

I open my mouth in disbelief. "But we're married, Britt! I'm pretty sure that we have to… consume the marriage or however it's called. Isn't that a thing?"

"Right!" She laughs. "I think we already "consumed" our marriage a long time ago, San!"

My phone suddenly rings so I quickly turn to her: "Saved by the bell… But this discussion is not over!"

"Hi Artie, what's up?" I say as I pick up the phone. "Yes… exactly. You can shoot the dance numbers from Act 1, Britt said that they are ready. For the other numbers, she'll come by tomorrow to rehearse once more with the cast and let's hope that it's enough..."


A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER – AT HOME

I'm the only one watching the movie as Brittany is sleeping all over me on the couch. We are completely failing at this new tradition that we have tried to start: "Sunday afternoon movies". We should call it "Sunday afternoon naps" because one of us always falls asleep, no matter what movie we try to watch. Usually it's me though, so it's kind of nice to see that it happens to Britt too. I glance at the baby monitor and Sofia is sound asleep in her room. My phone suddenly beeps and I quickly set it to silent before my wife wakes up.

FROM "MOM": Mija, we just booked our flights, with Abuela and Brittany's parents. We're landing in L.A. on August 14 and will stay until the end of the month. Call me tonight?

TO "MOM": Great news, mami! Can't wait to see you all! Yes, I'll call you later!


A FEW DAYS LATER – AT PARAMOUNT

"OK so Artie has shot all the scenes for episode 2, he will show us the edit when ready. I'm about to submit the script of episode 3 to the network but honestly, Quinn… I think we quickly need to rework Act 2. It's not funny enough, we can do better than that." I say.

As she doesn't reply, I look at her and notice that she is lost in her thoughts.

"Earth to Quinn!" I say, pinching her arm.

"Ow!" She shouts. "What was that for?"

"What's up with you? You are completely distracted today!" I say.

"Nothing." She replies.

"Come on, Fabray… Spill it out."

She looks at me but says nothing. I pinch her again, harder this time. "Look… either you tell me or I keep doing this all day, as you prefer!"

"Fine…" She says. "It's just that… you know Puck was supposed to come back from his mission tomorrow? He called this morning to say that he has to extend his stay by at least one more week… I swore a long time ago that I wouldn't pine over a guy anymore but… I really feel lonely…" She says, shaking her head. "So go on, feel free to mock me, I'm probably going to become a cat lady soon."

"Ok… Q, look… I know I usually tease you about your relationship with Puckerman. But he's not "a" guy" I say, using air quotes. "He's the guy… Your guy! And it's understandable that you miss him, I mean he's been gone for what… 2 weeks, right? When Brittany was in New York, I was already going crazy after two days! And you know what makes it this hard? It's because we live with them! The reminders are all over the house, from the empty side of the bed to their stuff in the bathroom, etc."

"That's true… Sometimes I even sniff his aftershave bottle… How pathetic is that…" She says.

"Girl, that's nothing! I didn't even wash Britt's pillowcase when she was away so that I could smell her and pretend that she was in bed with me! And I couldn't even sleep unless my daughter was in the room! Anyway, you need to get out of that house, believe me! Why don't you stay with us for a few days? We have plenty of room! It will do you some good to be around friends and I guarantee that Sofia will cheer you up, she's getting so funny now!"

"That's really nice of you, San but I wouldn't want to impose…" Quinn says.

"Who's imposing? I'm inviting you, Q! It will be like an Unholy Trinity reunion! I'm sure you'll feel better!" I say, squeezing her hand.

She finally forms a smile and nods. "Thanks… I would love to."


ON THE NEXT DAY – AT HOME

I'm sitting on the couch, watching Quinn tickling Sofia's belly, both laughing loudly. I can't help but smile. It sucks that our families live so far away but it also warms up my heart to know that my baby has so many uncles and aunties around.

I feel my phone buzzing and quickly check it.

FROM "MR SCHUE": Hi Santana! How are you all? I just wanted to tell you that we are going to sing Songbird this week in Glee club. I will send you a video! Emma and I listen to your album in the car on repeat, we love it!

Brittany joins us in the living room, carrying a bottle of wine and glasses.

"Oh we're popping a bottle of wine?" I ask.

"Well I figured that this was the best way to kick off our Unholy Trinity reunion!" She says with a smile.

"Sure, even though Quinn will be drunk after one glass or so… just like you actually!" I tease. "Means more wine for me!" I add, clapping my hands.

That comment earns me some death stares from both blondes.

"Well, San…" Quinn says. "If Britt and I are both drunk, then you actually can't drink because who else would be sober to look after Sofia?"

"Quinn is right, so no glass for you." Britt says, taking my glass away before I even have the time to argue. I hate when they team up against me.

"You know, honey…" Britt continues. "You should be careful with what you say… Don't you remember the whole "withholding sex" thing?" Britt threatens while Quinn laughs.

"Right, like you can keep it in your pants when you're drunk! I would like to see that!" I reply in a challenging way. "So by all means, babe, have my glass!"

She rolls her eyes but I know that I'm right.


LATER THAT NIGHT – AT HOME

Being the only one sober actually sucks. I basically watched Brittany and Quinn laughing for no reason the whole evening. Who would have thought that Sofia would actually be the easiest to handle tonight? I put my little one to bed hours ago and she has been quiet ever since!

And now of course, I'm stuck with the other two babies of the house. Quinn just spent an hour crying on my shoulder over Puck's absence. I could literally feel her tears wetting my shirt while Brittany was having some kind of philosophical debate about love with her. Even though they seemed highly impressed with each other - based on the number of times they ridiculously threw their "that's so beautiful what you just said!" - the truth is that their conversation made NO SENSE whatsoever! So now I'm just patiently waiting for the next phase of their drunken state, which I know is coming real soon.

A few minutes later, I see Quinn fighting sleep, struggling to keep her eyes open. At least, she's right on schedule! I know that she's going to pass out on the couch within 5 minutes tops, like she always does.

Brittany is another story though. She has started her usual kissing attacks and she can't let go of my lips for more than 2 seconds. And given the fact that she's already trying to undress me, I think she's going to be out of control very soon.

"Britt, enough…" I say, trying to block her hands.

"But you're wearing too much clothing, why you don't let me take that off!" She pouts.

"Because we are in the living room, honey! With Quinn!" I say, nodding towards our friend who is now fortunately asleep. "See, you really can't keep it in your pants when you drink!"

"No one would keep it in their pants if they had a wife as hot as mine…" She replies before kissing me again.

That's my fault actually, I let her drink too much. Now she has passed the "nicely flirty" stage I was aiming for and we went straight to horny town.

"Can we at least go to our bedroom?" I ask. "Please?"

"Ok fine, but these clothes better come off fast." She says, getting up.

I just have the time to put a blanket over Quinn before Brittany impatiently pulls me by the hand to lead me to our bedroom.


ONE MONTH LATER - SOFIA'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

"Sshhh" I say, pressing my finger against my lips as Brittany and I sneak into Sofia's bedroom. "I don't want the others to wake up just yet…" I whisper.

Our parents and Abuela have been staying with us for almost two weeks, and even though I'm delighted to have them around, we hardly have a moment to ourselves. Right now I just want to be with my wife and my daughter, and I want us to be the first ones to wish Sofia a happy birthday. It's still very early in the morning and our little girl is peacefully asleep.

"I can't believe our baby is 1 already…" Britt whispers.

"Me neither… Time flies by so quickly… Especially because I vividly remember giving birth to her, it feels like it was barely one month ago!" I reply.

But it has been one year. And since then, Sofia has grown up so much already: now she can say a few words and pretty soon she will walk, considering that she already does when we are there to hold her hands.

We stay there for a while, watching her, until she opens her eyes and immediately smiles at us.

"Good morning, birthday girl!" Britt says, taking her in her arms and kissing her cheek. "You know what day it is today? Happy first birthday, peanut!"

"Feliz cumpleaños mija!" I add, giving her a kiss on the other cheek. "You're going to have such a fun day today, baby! You will be the Queen of the house! Everyone is coming over… there will be music and gifts… How cool is that?"

After putting Sofia in my arms, Brittany suddenly leans to kiss me. "Thank you..." She says.

"What for?" I ask.

"For making her… Without you, I wouldn't have her." She says.

"Well… I might have hosted her for 9 long months…" I reply. "… but you're the one who initiated this whole parenting adventure! Without you, I wouldn't have her either… And now… I can't even imagine my life without her!"


A LITTLE WHILE LATER THAT DAY – AT HOME

While Brittany is dressing Sofia, I notice that Rachel sent me a message.

"Berry has sent me a video. For Sofia." I say.

"Play it!" Brittany says.

"Mmhh… are you sure? It's probably a song in which she is belting notes, do we really want to listen to that…?" I say, not convinced.

"Come on, San. It's really sweet of Rachel, and she's one of Sofia's aunts after all, you have to play it."

"Fine…" I say in defeat and press on "play", holding my phone in front of Sofia and Brittany.

I was right, it is a video of Rachel belting notes. The video has been playing for barely 15 seconds that Sofia starts crying, really hard…

"Oooh… It seems that she doesn't like it…" Brittany says with a sad tone.

"That's my girl!" I say proudly as a reflex, until I see Brittany frowning at me.

"What? I have nothing to do with that! She listened to it and she doesn't like it… We have to respect her opinion!" I reply.


LATER THAT DAY – AT HOME – BIRTHDAY PARTY

We are all gathered in the garden to celebrate our little girl. Artie has brought his video camera and has offered to make a little "movie" of the day, while Quinn keeps taking pictures. She took a great shot of me and Brittany holding Sofia earlier, I'm thinking of having it framed. I see that she is now taking a few pictures of my baby with Mike and Mercedes. My parents are busy discussing with Britt's dad, Tina and Sam. As I walk towards them, I spot my wife chatting with her mom, my Abuela and Puck.

"Dad, thank you for the piñata! It's really cute!" I say.

"Of course, mija… Sofia needed one! It's a special occasion!" He replies.

After discussing with them for a while, I decide that it's time for a toast. I cling my glass of champagne to get people's attention while Brittany comes standing next to me.

"Hi! I'm not going to make a long speech because… it's not really my style..." I say. "But on behalf of Britt, I want to thank you for celebrating Sofia's first birthday with us! It really means a lot to share this with you because… Brittany and I consider you all as family and we are really grateful that you are in our daughter's life…" I add, turning to Britt to give her the floor.

"I'm not great at speeches either…" Brittany adds. "And as Santana always says, sometimes it's just better to say certain things in music! So we would like to invite you to come back inside and gather around the piano… Because San and I are going to perform a special duet for our daughter, which was actually written by my amazing wife!"

A few minutes later, I'm sitting on the piano seat together with Britt, while Mike and Mercedes stand next to us as they have kindly accepted to sing back vocals for their goddaughter. Brittany's mom is holding Sofia on her lap and our baby keeps looking at us with curious eyes. Once Artie gives us the signal that he's ready to film, I play the first notes on the piano, quickly joined by Brittany who sings the first words of the song.

Isn't she lovely

Isn't she wonderful

I smile, listening to her angelic voice, before singing my own verse:

Isn't she precious

Less than one minute old

Britt joins me to sing together the next verse, doing some very cool harmonies that we perfected in the studio the other day.

I never thought through love we'd be

Making one as lovely as she

But isn't she lovely made from love

As we split the next verses among the two of us, Mercedes and Mike join us:

Isn't she pretty

Truly the angel's best

Boy, I'm so happy

We have been heaven blessed

I can't believe what God has done

Through us he's given life to one

But isn't she lovely made from love


A WHILE LATER THAT DAY – AT HOME

After eating and drinking for a while, I announce that it's time for another song.

"In case you didn't know, my dad is constantly bugging me to make sure that Sofia is in touch with her hispanic side" I say. "So Dad… I have a surprise for you and for Sofia… Abuela and I are going to sing the first Spanish song that she taught me when I was a child. I even learned it on the piano for the occasion! And I invite you all to follow my dad's moves because he actually invented a whole choreography years ago!"


A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER THAT DAY – AT HOME

Of course by now we have all broken into songs, this birthday party has somehow turned into a total Glee reunion… They are all singing at the top of their lungs while Brittany and Mike doing some cool dance moves with a smiling Sofia.

I'm a bit tired though so I have decided to sit down for a few minutes, observing them all. Shortly after, Abuela comes sitting next to me.

"Hi Abuelita, having fun?" I ask.

"Oh yes, it's actually the most exciting day I have had in a while!" She says.

"You did good, Santana..." She adds.

"Thanks! We wanted to make it special, you know… A first birthday is an important milestone." I reply.

"I'm not just talking about today…" She says. "I know I sometimes complain that you live too far away because I miss you but… you really built a whole life here… You have a beautiful home, a beautiful family… And I'm so happy to see how much your friends care about the three of you… You have people you can really count on! And that song you wrote for your baby girl… I cried the whole time, it was absolutely beautiful. I don't really know much about arts… but I really love your album, and your TV show too… I'm just… so proud of you."

"Thanks Abuelita… It really means a lot…" I say, very moved by what she just said. "Come on, give me a hug." I add as I take her in my arms.

"Oh by the way…" She adds. "I will give you the email address of a few people from church. They said that they want to buy your album online but I don't know how this whole online thing works. Can you send them the info for me?"

"Of course, Abuela! Thank you for promoting it!"

"There are also a few ladies from bingo night that are interested!" She says.

"You're going to be my biggest seller!" I add with a chuckle.


A/N: Could you tell me what you thought of this part? It's a bit of a filler chapter because as I said previously, I was a bit stuck with the story. Was it interesting/entertaining or was it actually boring? Feel free to say because reviews are always of great help for me! I brought in a few domestic scenes and some bits about the Unholy Trinity because I thought that it was missing in this story. As I had briefly written drunk Quinn and Brittany in my first story, I wanted to make them come back for a while here too ;-) And of course, it was also important to mark Ms Sofia's first birthday… Regarding the song, I usually take songs that were featured on Glee so it seemed the only suitable one, I kept the lyrics that made sense. I might accelerate the timeline as from the next chapter, I had an idea for a major part of the story but it might still take a few chapters to get there. Thank you for reading and for the reviews! I'm always open to suggestions!