The months following Puck's second surgery were such a blur that they didn't even feel real to Santana. The boys' turned four two weeks after, so they took them by the hospital in the morning of their birthday to see Puck for the first time since the night he was shot, for both their sakes and Pucks. When visiting hours were over, they headed back to their house, where they had a small party with just Brittany and Santana's parents, Quinn and Puck on video chat.
Then there was their anniversary a month later, which they didn't really celebrate. Puck was still recovering, though he'd been allowed to leave the hospital, so they just invite their friends over to their house for some drinks and food.
"Alright you drunk mother fucker's" Elaine yelled getting everyone's attention over the music. "In honour of our lovely couple, we are going to play a time honoured anniversary game."
"How would you know?" Quinn asked, dropping onto the couch next to a cuddled up Santana and Brittany.
"Shut if Fabray, I happen to have been dating the same guy for 15 years, shall I bring up your love life?" Santana laughed loudly, clearly very drunk.
"What love life?"
"Ookay" Quinn said as everyone laughed. "Weren't you saying something Elaine?"
"Yes. We are going to play the newlywed game. Yes, I am aware that they're not newlyweds, but whatever. The point is to see if they're still as connected as when they got married."
"Santana and Brittany, if you'd please come sit up here" Jade called, dragging two chairs from the kitchen.
"Why can't we stay like this?" Brittany whined, not wanting to let Santana go.
"Because you'll cheat. You think after four years of high school together we don't know you guys have a system?" Quinn asked, laughing and pushing the two up.
After much groaning and protest, Brittany and Santana were finally in their chairs with a handful of flash cards and markers for them both.
"Now" Puck said from the comfort the couch, "I want a nice clean game" Santana beamed at him, understanding the Harry potter reference. "Jade you ready?"
"Yeah, I'm just setting it up now."
"Setting what up?" Santana asked suspiciously.
"The live stream." Elaine replied casually.
"Woah" Brittany said, standing up. "You're not serious are you?"
"Why?"
"We're drunk."
"It's your anniversary" Puck said. "People are expecting you to be drunk."
"Uhh I don't think that they are" Santana said, shaking her head.
"It doesn't matter. We need to remind your fans that you're not just boring mothers. You're 28 year old hotties, who know how to have a good time."
"I'm 27." Santana reminded him.
"Exactly my point."
"Okay ready mate" Jade called.
"Sweet. Quinn?"
"Hey guys, so Puck and I have taken over-"
"Hey?"
"Okay, Puck, Jade and I have taken over Santana's instagram account for the night. We are going to give you an exclusive look into the real Santana and Brittany Lopez-Pierce, without all the glitts and the glam"
"Please don't judge how I look" Santana called, "it's very late, and I'm really drunk."
"Me too. But you look gorgeous baby." Brittany cooed, leaning in to kiss her. Santana pulled back at the last second with a smirk.
"Not on camera B" she said, booping her nose. Brittany pouted.
"Can we get on with it?" Puck asked impatiently, waving one of his crutches.
"For this episode of keeping up with the Lopierce's, we're going to be playing the newlywed game!" Elaine exclaimed. "I'm sure you all know how it works-"
"We ask a question, like what's Santana's favourite colour-"
"Red" Brittany shouted, jumping up. Santana nodded, clapping.
"And they write down their answers." Quinn finished. Brittany sat down giggling.
"Right….sorry."
"You guys are making this boring. I spent weeks in the hospital and some of the shit that went on there was so much more fun." Puck said, picking up another beer.
"Okay. We're starting. Fucking baby"
"Don't curse" Santana said, raising a hand. "I have some young fans."
"Sorry." Elaine said.
"Question one" Puck called. "What is Brittany's go to dance song"
Brittany and Santana both frowned. "What do you mean?" Santana asked.
"Can't tell you that. Just answer the question the way you interpret it."
"Wait but like…what if I don't know the answer?" Brittany asked, still frowning. Puck turned back to look at Quinn, then shrugged.
"Guess."
"That's not fair though. How am I supposed to get this right when you won't even clarify the question I'm answering?"
Puck shrugged again, laughing. "Not my problem, and make it snappy, you're taking too long. My wound will have healed by the time you guys are done with this game."
Santana rolled her eyes, then wrote down an answer.
"Okay, on three, Britt you're going to say what the answer is, then Santana will say what she wrote." Elaine told them. They both nodded. "Okay, one, two, three."
"I always forget the name of this song, but it's French. So I wrote the French song." Brittany said, giggling. Everyone laughed.
"Santana what did you write?" Puck asked.
Santana flipped her flash card with a massive grin. "Sapés comme jamais"
"Yeah!" Brittany said excitedly. "That's the French one!"
"Okay, point for them" Jade said.
"Wait. It's not me against Britt?" Santana asked.
"No, it's you two against the game." Puck said, laughing along with everyone else at the disappointed look on her face. "Ow, ow" he hissed, gripping his stomach.
"You okay?" Quinn asked, moving towards him.
"Fine" Puck dismissed waving his hand.
"I just want everyone to know, that Brittany is amazing and literally the greatest human being on the planet," Santana started, "But I would have so won this game."
"Well, you still will babe" Brittany said, smiling at her.
"Next question" Puck said loudly. "What is Santana's favourite thing to wear?"
"Okay who the hell wrote these questions?" Santana asked angrily. "Was it you Noah?"
Puck laughed, more cautious this time. "Just answer the question LP."
"That's freaking stupid. Do you mean clothes or jewellery or perfume or shoes? Like seriously?"
"Whatever you like wearing the most Santana. Jeeez, it's not that hard." Elaine said.
"I have an answer" Brittany said, grinning. Santana turned to look at her. They stared at each other for a while.
"Hey. That's cheating!" Quinn exclaimed.
Santana and Brittany laughed. "How?" Brittany asked, as Santana wrote down an answer.
"You guys can communicate silently."
Santana and Brittany laughed again. "You have no proof" Santana sing-songed.
"Whatever, show your answer Santana." Quinn rolled her eyes.
"The charm bracelet B gave me in freshman year of high school."
"Britt?"
Brittany turned over her card, "Charm bracelet" she said, high fiving Santana.
"We started off easy." Jade said. "Don't get too cocky."
"Please. Everything is easy for us. We know everything about each other." Brittany said, sitting down from her victory dance.
"We'll see."
"Next question" Puck said. "Who wears the pants in your relationship?"
Santana rolled her eyes as Brittany frowned.
"Is that a real question?" Brittany asked.
"We all know Santana's whipped" Quinn said laughing, "But it would be nice to have in writing from both of you."
"Just…bug off Quinn" Santana said, making everyone laugh.
"I'm afraid that's my influence" Jade said proudly. "Babes' picking up the Queen's English."
"Okay ready?" Puck asked, a huge grin on his face.
"Wait, wait" Brittany, who had been staring at Santana, scrambled to right something. "I won't even be mad if we don't get this."
"Me either" Santana laughed.
"I hope you've written what I know you're thinking, cause that's what I wrote."
Santana turned to look at Brittany curiously.
"I think I have yeah…what am I thinking?"
"Hey!" Puck said, again pointing his crutch and stopping them. "Brittany you go first."
"I wrote, Fuck you and your stupid heteronormative perception of relationships."
Everyone laughed, Santana the hardest. She threw her cards on the ground, doubled over with laughter as she tried to walk around Brittany, clapping her hands.
"No way you wrote the same thing" Blade, Puck's band mate said.
Santana, still laughing, picked up her cards from the ground and showed them to everyone.
"Fuck you, and fuck your stupid, way too predictable heteronormative perception of relationships." Everyone burst out laughing. Brittany just sat there looking proud of herself. When the chaos died down, Santana placed a kiss on Brittany's temple before retaking her seat. "You're the best B" she whispered.
"That was too cool not to award, so we'll give it to you" Elaine said, still giggling slightly.
"Next questiooon" Puck shouted.
"Are you going to do that every time?"
"Yup" he said with a grin. "What was the first fight you guys ever had?"
Santana made an 'o' shape with her mouth. Brittany whistled and looked up at the ceiling.
"That's a hard one huh?" Quinn said. "Not so easy now is it?"
"Considering Santana and I have known each other for almost 15 years, I think it's normal for us to have to think for a few minutes."
"Oh!" Santana exclaimed. "I think I got it." She scrunched up her eyes. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure I got it."
Brittany watched her as she wrote down her answer, then groaned loudly, burying her face in her hands.
"Come on Brittany" she muttered to herself.
"You don't mean the first big fight right? Just, the first fight we ever had" Santana asked for clarification.
"Yeah." Puck answered.
"Oh I got it! I got it I got it!" Brittany bounced excitedly in her seat as she wrote.
"How embarrassing if they haven't written the same thing, after both being so sure they got it" Blade laughed.
"You guys ready?" Puck asked. Santana and Brittany nodded.
"Please have this right Santana" Brittany said.
"Okay, what did you write Santana?" he asked.
"Summer after freshman year"
"YES!" Brittany screamed. Santana giggled while everyone laughed.
"I'm guessing that means that's what you wrote?" Puck asked.
"Yeah"
"Okay, tell us what happened."
"I'm not even really sure." Brittany admitted. "I just remember that it was the first time I was pissed at her."
"It was about partying. You said I was going to too many parties and you didn't want to anymore cause you didn't drink at that time, and you'd have to take care of my drunk ass all night. Then I'd be too hung over the next day to do anything fun."
"Ooooh" Brittany said, the memory coming back to her. "And then you said that if I wanted to be boring you wouldn't stop me but who was I to think I could tell you what to do"
"Yeah. We didn't talk for like…three days, and in that time I went to a party, got alcohol poisoning and kissed Puck." Santana grimaced and shivered in disgust. "Safe to say I made my way to Britt's house as soon as I could, apologised, and never went to a party without her again."
Everyone laughed.
"Three for three" Puck said, when the commotion had died down.
"That's four dumbass" Quinn said loudly. Puck flipped her the finger.
"Hey!" Santana yelled, pointing at him. Puck grinned.
"Next questioooon. This is a double or nothing. Before you got married, what was your favourite memory with each other? You have to write yours and your wife's."
"Easy" Santana said, writing something down.
"Your answer is pretty short" Quinn observed.
"Yes. Yes it is."
Britany was staring off to the side, twirling a lock of hair. "So many to choose from" she mumbled. "Oh" she said after a moment, grinning, "Duh"
"Ready?" Puck asked. They nodded. "Britt, what did you write?"
"The vacation we took after I graduated."
Santana nodded, flipping her card. "Lesbos/Hawaii" she said.
"Ay ay!…Looks like we're going for a home run people." Puck said, clapping excitedly.
The game lasted a few more rounds, with Brittany and Santana getting every question right, before they moved on to more traditional drinking games. It was a fun night, and one they definitely needed after the fear and uncertainty of the last month.
Now it was August, and Santana couldn't believe how fast the year had flown by.
"Okay" Quinn said, placing Jesus down and closing the door. "I'm sorry, but I'm just a little confused about what we're doing here."
"Me too"
"Shut up Noah, you're not even actually here" Santana said, climbing out of the car herself.
"It takes a minute to recover from a gun shot Lopierce, didn't you know?"
"Three months seems a little longer than a minute, that's all I'm saying."
"Brittany can you turn the phone, I want to look at her while I glare"
The three women laughed.
"Mami, are we buying some new toys?" Jesus asked
"No baby, you have a lot of toys from your birthday don't you?" Jesus nodded.
"Way, waaaay too many toys" Brittany said, shaking her head. "Way too many"
Quinn laughed, but Santana understood. They had needed to buy two more toy boxes in order to be able to have a place to put them all, and they were seriously considering turning one of the guest rooms into a toy room, so that the boys' bedroom wasn't so cluttered.
"Back to the point though…what are we doing here?" Quinn asked again, as they made their way to the entrance of the babyshop.
"Are you guys having a baby?" Puck asked.
Brittany and Santana smiled at each other.
"Oh my god" Quinn said dramatically, pausing just inside the door and gaping at them.
"You are!" Quinn squealed.
"Yeah, well we're not having a baby, we're adopting one, but yeah." Brittany said, smiling widely.
"Oh my GOD. CONGRATULATIONS!" Quinn screamed, pulling Brittany into a tight hug, and then Santana.
"Dude, why couldn't you tell me this in person?" Puck complained. "I wanna give you guys a hug too."
"Aww Puck, you can give us one when we see you later today." Brittany said.
"Damn. Congratulations bro. You're going to have another kid! Damn that's so crazy."
"I know" Santana said, laughing. "And I'm not even thirty."
"I didn't know you guys were like…looking into that. I didn't even know you were thinking about having more kids." Quinn said, finally moving away from the door and into the store. A sales assistant was standing close by.
"We weren't" Brittany said, a cheeky smile crossing her face.
"It was kind of exactly like when we were in Brazil. We weren't looking, we weren't even thinking about it, we were and are, in no way prepared for it, but it just happened." Santana said.
"We just saw him and…he's just ours you know?" Brittany added
"No actually, but that's so sweet" Quinn said.
"Hold up" Puck shouted. "He? It's a he? Oh man! YES. Another boy. I love it."
"Boy mums huh?" Quinn laughed. "I suppose I should have predicted it."
"I'm not even going to ask why that is" Santana said, shaking her head and beginning to look around the store. "I don't feel like being insulted at the moment."
"Hello, Santana Lopez, hi, I'm a huge fan of yours." The sales assistant said, rushing forward as soon as Santana separated from the group. Santana smiled, extending her hand to shake the other woman's. "I'm a fan of yours and Brittany's too" she broke off and waved at Brittany, who waved back just as enthusiastically. "I just want you to know that we will take your privacy very seriously here. No one is going to be bothering you about what you're doing here or…like asking for pictures or autographs or something, so…"
"Thank y-"
"Also, we totally have a back door you can use to exit if you wanted, just so…you know paparazzi or whatever don't like…follow you."
Santana waited a second to make sure the girl was done talking. When she was sure, she smiled. "Thank you so much. I'm not sure the backdoor will be necessary, but we appreciate it, right babe?"
Brittany nodded, moving to stand next to Santana and taking her hand. "Of course, it's so nice of you. We're just going to look around a bit, we'll let you know if we need any help." Years and years of watching Santana attempt to politely disengage from a conversation had taught Brittany to read the signs when she needed help. One of Santana's favourite ways to silently ask for rescue was to call Brittany into whatever interaction it was she was having that she wanted to leave.
"Yeah. Okay great, I'll just be here if you need anything."
"Thank you love, what's your name?" Brittany asked.
"Hailey"
"Thank you Hailey" Brittany smiled again, and then pulled Santana away and into an aisle.
"So are we actually doing shopping, or are we just looking?" Quinn asked, picking up a shopping basket. Santana laughed.
"Looks like the answer doesn't really matter to you does it?"
"Hey, I have a new nephew to start spoiling. I love buying things for Jesus and Kyler, but" she picked up a little green onesie with a giraffe on it. "Baby clothes" she cooed. Brittany shook her head as Quinn placed the onesie in the basket.
"Hey, get a blue one…yowh Britt give Quinn the phone" Puck yelled.
"You know you don't need to shout" Brittany told him, handing Quinn the phone. "While those two do that" she told Santana, "why don't we get started?" Santana nodded.
Niki, as they was still calling him, was going to be placed with them in a week's time, so they were finally allowing themselves to get his room ready. The process, as the social worker had told them, was very similar to what they had gone through with the twins, only filled with even more uncertainty. In Brazil, they were fairly certain they would get custody, so though they were anxious, it was more or less unfounded. This time, there was no guarantee at all. In fact, the social worker made a point to remind them of that almost every time they talked. Twice before Niki was supposed to be coming to stay with them, and both times something had happened to prevent it, without anyone really seeming to be able to tell them why.
This was what scared them the most. That they could do everything right and still not get him, for no reason at all. Santana had therefore insisted that in order to not get their hopes too high, they should only start shopping when they were as close to the day he would be arriving as possible. Furniture had already been ordered and would be arriving in three or four days. Among that would be a crib, because despite the fact that they already had two, they had the letters J and K on them, and Santana and Brittany were both agreed that while it was convenient, it didn't seem fair for Niki to have to use hand me downs, especially since they were more than financially able to give him the best.
"Yeah" Santana said. "I think we should start with vests and onesies first. The rest of it we can do slowly after he's arrived."
"Hailey?" Brittany called, knowing the girl was lurking behind one of the isles. She materialised in front of them in seconds.
"Yes?" She said eagerly. "Do you need something?"
"Yes. We were wondering if you had a preemie section."
"Oh…yeah, yeah we do. I can show you." She nodded, ten took off down the aisle they were in and disappeared round the corner. Santana giggled, shaking her head.
"I bet she'd have said we could make a special order if they didn't."
"She's cute" Brittany said, following the sales assistant. "Imagine if you met your idol in high school or college. You'd be just like that." Santana pursed her lips. "Maybe worse."
"Hey" Santana said, smacking Brittany's hand playfully. "I'd be totally cool."
Brittany laughed. "If you say so baby."
"Here they are" Hailey said, pointing to a section off in the corner of the store. "There's not a lot of stuff….I guess…but I think you could make a special request and we'd be happy to fill it out."
Santana turned and smirked at Brittany. "No that's okay. We only have about a week, so we'll just see what's here. Thank you."
Hailey beamed, looking extremely proud of herself. "Alright, then let me know if you need anything else" she said as she walked off reluctantly.
As Santana and Brittany looked at the clothing options that would fit Niki, who despite being three months old, still weighed less than a healthy new born, they couldn't help being disappointed.
"Well" Brittany said, turning to face Santana once they had seen everything. "Either we dress him in clothes too big for him, or we get some clothes tailored."
"I think we could do a mixture of both, then he'll have clothes that fit perfectly, and clothes that he can grow into." Santana replied. Brittany nodded.
When they had confirmed that Niki would be coming to live with them, the doctors had finally been allowed to share his medical information. Santana had already read everything she could find on the internet about babies born with drugs in their system, the physical, mental and developmental effects that could have, behavioural things to expect, and the best way to deal with that as the parent, but something about hearing it coming from a doctor was infinitely scarier.
Niki would have a hard time sleeping for the first year of his life, possibly after, he would either have an excess of energy, or be very subdued, they would have to wait and see. He would have a hard time adding weight if they didn't carefully monitor what he was having and how much, and then there was the developmental things that they could not predict.
Santana left that appointment cursing Niki's parents to the depths of hell. Brittany understood. In the time they had spent with him at the hospital, it had already become extremely obvious that Niki was a happy baby. He smiled whenever people held him, and laughed a lot easier than any baby they had ever met. But he also cried. He cried a lot. The doctors said that it was to be expected because he was going through withdrawal and a fussy stomach and it only made Brittany and Santana angrier. The good news though, was that he wasn't as badly off as he could have been, according to the doctors. He had no respiratory issues, and his internal organs were uncompromised, so he hadn't needed surgery. Therefore, as long as they fed him well, kept him happy and healthy and watched out for any signs of further symptoms, there was no reason why he shouldn't add weight. Santana was determined for this to happen as quickly as possible.
"Right" Brittany said smiling. "That's a good idea."
"Find anything?" Quinn asked. Brittany burst out laughing, Santana rolling her eyes as they saw Quinn. She was carrying two shopping baskets, both filled with an assortment of clothes, hats, bibs, blankets and toys.
"Really?" Santana asked, though she couldn't help smiling.
"What?"
"You haven't even seen him yet and you're already going overboard?" Quinn shrugged.
"Well…I assume he's not a new born right?"
"Three months" Brittany told her. Quinn nodded.
"Puck and I thought so. That means we have three months of spoiling to catch up on bitches."
Santana shook her head.
"How do you even have that much money to spend?" Santana asked, looking at the items in the basket. "These aren't cheap brands you're buying Q"
"Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Dolce…." Brittany broke off whistling and shaking her head as Santana laughed. "Really?"
"I'm not having my godson in anything but the best."
"Right," Santana said, picking up a pair of ralph Lauren shorts, "he can't fit into these."
"He will eventually" Quinn said, snatching them back and dropping them in the basket.
"How are you paying for these?" Brittany asked again, looking at a price tag on a onesie that said 50 dollars.
"Will you guys stop worrying about that? Puck's gonna pay me back for half anyway."
Santana and Brittany exchanged a look, wondering how Puck was going to pay for that, but decided not to say anything.
"Besides" Quinn continued. "Just because we're not all as rich as you two, doesn't mean we don't have money"
"Okay, okay" Santana said, raising her hands in surrender. "We just don't want you guys going out of your way to get expensive things. The brand doesn't really matter."
"Yeah right" Quinn scoffed. "High school Santana would kick your ass for saying that."
Santana and Brittany laughed, following Quinn to the till.
"Just these?" the clerk asked. Quinn nodded.
"How long do your online orders take to be delivered?" Santana asked.
"Depends on the size of the order and the store their being shipped from."
"Probably bulk" Brittany answered.
"Should take between three and four days."
"Excellent" Santana said. "Everything's gonna come on the same day then"
Brittany moved closer to her side, lopping her arm through Santana's and resting her head on her shoulder. "I'm so excited"
"Me too B"
The next day Santana was sitting on the edge of the pool with her legs dangling inside, while Brittany swam the length of the pool lazily, Kyler on her back. Jesus was in the shallow end of the pool sitting on Puck's shoulders as he walked the width back and forth as part of his physical therapy.
Today had been one of those good days, where you know it's a good day, and everything that happened just seemed to make you even happier. Jesus had slept in for the first time in his life, waking up at almost eight. She and Brittany had taken a couple weeks off of work to get into a proper routine with Niki, so neither of them had to go anywhere.
They had spent the morning making breakfast together, which got them all very messy, and then played a round of cops and robbers, which seemed to be Jesus and Kyler's favourite game. At 1, Quinn had showed up with a bunch of ingredients from her restaurant, claiming she needed a place to try out some new recipe, and not long after, Puck had dropped in with some snacks, saying he'd rather do his therapy in their pool than the one at the rehab centre. It felt like the perfect way to spend the last day as a family of four, before a new addition.
She was definitely excited about Niki's arrival and seeing how the twins adapted to being older brothers, but there was a certain…sadness, that came with confronting the truth that the life she was used to was coming to an end. The lazy mornings where she and Brittany would each cuddle with one of the boys, and they'd lay in bed just talking or watching tv, were coming to an end. A baby meant late nights and even earlier mornings, and not as much energy to run around with Jesus and Kyler.
A third child meant she and Brittany were outnumbered, and were definitely going to have their hands full. The schedules and routines they had fallen into would have to be adjusted and remodelled to fit not just a baby, or a third child, but a new human being. Niki would have likes and dislikes, and a whole personality that they would have to accommodate. Santana looked forward to finding out what that was, and experiencing the changes he would bring to their family, but she also mourned the loss of what she had grown to love more than anything else in her life.
"Your phone's ringing" Quinn yelled from the kitchen, bringing Santana out of her thoughts. Taking a moment to take in the picture in front of her; Brittany and Puck throwing the boys between them, she smiled and got up, making her way into the kitchen. "What?"
"What?"
"Why are you smiling like that?"
"I'm happy."
"Excited about tomorrow?"
Santana grinned, pausing in her search for her now silent phone to look at Quinn. "You don't even know. He is….he's the sweetest, cutest, most adorable baby boy Quinn. Like you just look at him and fall in love. There's no way you won't."
"I can't wait to meet him S" Quinn said truthfully. Santana's phone began ringing again.
"Where is it?" she whined, jumping down onto the couch in the living room and then onto the floor.
"Jesus had it when I came in…I think"
Santana straightened, looking around the room. "Ha" she exclaimed, spotting it in the corner where all the toys were. The phone had stopped ringing, but as Santana looked down at the missed call notification, her heart stopped. "BRITTANY" she shouted, quickly unlocking her phone and calling back the number. "BRITTANY" she shouted again, walking to the sliding door and pulling it open.
Brittany, who was still in the pool, turned to face her. She took in the panicked look on Santana's face and immediately rushed to get out.
"No mama, it's my turn" Kyler whined as Brittany climbed the steps out of the pool.
"One second buddy. Santana what's wrong?"
"The social worker" Santana whispered, biting the nails on one finger nervously. Brittany's eyes widened, her heart rate already increasing as her mind went through dozens of worst case scenarios.
"I said one second Kyler" she snapped at Kyler, who had been whining and kicking and complaining about going back into the pool. He stopped, looking at her with wide eyes that were rapidly filling with tears.
"Hi, my name is Santana Lopez-Pierce, I just missed two calls from…yes okay thank you."
"Sorry Ky" Brittany said, feeling horrible. She had never snapped at the kids before, but the panic she was feeling was close to what she felt when Santana had tried to tell her that they couldn't adopt the twins. Kyler burst out crying. "Buddy, mama is really sorry okay? Just go to Tia for a few minutes while mami and I handle something and then I promise we can go back in the pool" Kyler shook his head. "Or we can do whatever you want just…please buddy go to Tia." Kyler continued to cry into her chest, shaking his head.
"Yes, I'm here" Santana said, tapping Brittany's arm. "No, not at all Julia we're just at home. Is everything okay?"
"Quinn please" Brittany called, putting Kyler down. There was silence for all of two seconds as he took in a deep breath, and then the house was filled with screams. Quinn rushed into the living room, practically having to pull Kyler off Brittany's leg, which he was clinging to, and taking him outside.
"Ky, I promise when we finish this call I'm going to carry you okay. I promise buddy" Brittany said, feeling like the worst mother in the world. She sighed in relief as his hysterical cries silenced into gentle whimpers.
"Promise?"
"I promise. I promise."
Finally, he stopped fighting Quinn and allowed her to carry him back to the pool. Brittany watched until Quinn was seated on one of the poolside chairs, then focused on Santana.
"Right now?" Santana was saying.
"What is she saying?" Brittany asked.
"Brittany's here Julia, I'm just going to put you on speaker phone."
"Hello?" A female voice came through the phone.
"Hi Julia" Brittany said.
"Hi Brittany. I was just asking Santana if you two could make it to my office in an hour."
Brittany frowned at Santana. "Is something wrong?"
"There's just been a development in the case, and I need to discuss it with you."
"Can't you tell us now?" Santana asked somewhat desperately.
"I would rather discuss this in person"
Santana and Brittany looked at each other, trying to find some comfort, but both only finding anxiety and fear.
"Yeah" Brittany finally said, eyes still locked with Santana's. "We'll be there."
"What happened?" Puck asked as Brittany came back out to get Kyler.
"We need to go to the social workers office. I don't know she just said she needed to talk to us." she bent and picked Kyler, who threw his hands around her neck and squeezed tightly.
"Okay, you guys go, we got things here. We have Jesus"
"Mama" Jesus said, trying to get out of Puck's arms. "I'm coming. I'm coming mama" he strained as he pushed against Puck's strong grip. "Maamaa" he began to cry. Brittany sighed.
"Okay" she said, resigning herself to the situation. "Okay buddy, let's go"
Quinn lifted him from Puck's arms. Brittany tried, but she was beginning to feel overwhelmed. She imagined this was how she was going to feel when Niki was with them, since there would be three kids to keep track of. If Niki came to live with them. For all she knew, this meeting was to tell them that they had found his father, or uncle, or godparents, and so she and Santana could not foster him anymore. She sighed heavily just as Santana yelled for her from inside the house.
"Go B" Quinn said reassuringly. "We'll be here when you get back."
"Okay" Brittany said, shifting Kyler to one hip and taking Jesus onto the other one. "Let's go" she repeated.
They waited at the office reception for nearly twenty five minutes before they were let in to see their case worker. The entire time, neither Jesus nor Kyler spoke much. Kyler didn't speak at all. He had refused to be separated from Brittany even to be strapped into his car seat, so she had sat in the back with him in her lap. Now he was still on her lap, his head resting on her chest as he stared off into the distance. Jesus seemed similarly subdued, which was incredibly alarming for his mothers. He didn't fidget, or squirm, or attempt to run the length of the corridor like they were used to him doing. He stood calmly between Santana's legs, resting his elbows on her thighs and playing with the charm bracelet on her left hand. Occasionally he'd ask what was happening, or point something out to them, but for the most part he just hummed silently to himself.
"Mrs Lopez-Pierce" they heard called, as a woman poked her head out of a door. Santana and Brittany stood up quickly. "Please come in."
When they were seated in their chairs, Julia sat down in her own behind the desk, leaning forward.
"Thank you for coming in on such short notice."
"It's really not a problem." Brittany said
"I just wish you'd tell us what was going on."
"Yes of course. So the thing is, we have located Owen's father."
"Jesus, would you like to go play?" Santana asked, pointing to the corner in Julia's room that had some legos. Jesus nodded tentatively. "I'll be right here okay? We're not going anywhere, mama and I just have to talk to Julia a bit and it will be really boring for you."
"Okay" Jesus accepted, jumping off her lap and walking to the play area. Santana allowed herself a moment to wonder about his walking before refocusing on the conversation. She didn't bother asking Kyler.
"Sorry" she said to Julia, "they didn't want to be left at home."
"No need to apologize, I understand."
"You were saying" Brittany said.
"Yes. So I was finally able to find Owen's mother in our system. It was hard to do with no name or information, but we did eventually find her."
"Okay" Santana said, bracing herself.
"Her name was Nancy Horvath, born in America to Hungarian parents who died when she was young. We have her in our system for two reasons, one of which is that she was a foster kid herself." Julia paused to make sure Brittany and Santana were following her. "Her husband is Kevin Jacobs."
"Okay" Santana said again. "Do we really need to know all of this history?"
Julia licked her lips. "Yes. It is all important. I know this is a lot to handle, but if you'll let me finish…"
Brittany reached out and took Santana's hand. "Baby let her tell us."
Santana clenched her jaw and nodded.
"Well we Located Kevin earlier today. He is in jail."
Santana sat up straighter. "Don't tell me he killed her"
"No" Julia exclaimed quickly. "Well….that depends on how you want to look at it. He is in on drug charges."
Santana and Brittany frowned.
"You have not been filled in on Owen's full story I realise, that's what this meeting is for. First let me say that with the information we have gathered today, if you are still interested after what I tell you, your adoption of Owen has been approved."
"What?" Brittany asked, her mind unable to process the news.
"I don't understand what you're saying Julia" Santana said honestly, rubbing her head.
"Listen to what I have to tell you, and if you still want to adopt Owen afterwards, then I will set up the court hearing."
"Of course we'll still want to adopt him" Brittany said, now getting excited, but slightly angry. Julia smiled. "It doesn't matter what you have to say."
"But it does. It matters a lot."
"Okay, just tell us" Santana said.
Julia sat back, pulling a file towards her and opening it to a marked page.
"Kevin has been arrested four times before, all for drug charges. Possession, intent to distribute, DUIs, but there were also domestic abuse charges, public disturbance and indecency, one for attempted robbery and assault attached."
"Christ" Brittany said quietly, shaking her head.
"What is he in for now?" Santana asked.
"Selling to minors, possession and selling of cocaine and heroin and manslaughter."
"What? Who?" Brittany asked.
"He was driving while high, drifted off the road, hit three pedestrians, and then collided with a car. Three people are dead."
"Holy hell" Santana said, shaking her head. Brittany's mouth was open in disbelief.
"He's gotten 32 years behind bars, because of all of his priors."
"He deserves it" Brittany said bitterly. Julia nodded.
"As I'm sure you've put together, that means that both Owen's mother and father are not around. Nancy's parents are dead, and we have no record of Kevin's parents. No way to contact them, and no evidence that they are involved in his life. They both had no siblings that they or we know of and no legal documents dictating who should take care of their children in the event that they die or are unable to."
"Okay so….we…he's ours?" Brittany asked.
Julia tilted her head. "I still have more to tell."
"Julia please" Santana said, trying not to lose her temper. "Just get everything out, I can't…we can't take this."
"Sorry. So Nancy died from an overdose. She was found dead in an alleyway a block from the hospital, so it's assumed that's where she was headed. Owen was with her when she died."
"Oh my god" Brittany sighed. Santana shook her head.
"He was unharmed, but had large amounts of cocaine in his system indicating that he was both born with it, and breast fed while she was high."
Santana tilted her head up, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. This was a lot. A lot of violence and drugs in association with their sweet innocent baby, and she hated it. She was furious.
"When we were finally able to identify Nancy, you'll recall I said we had her in our system for two reasons."
Santana sat back, her back colliding with the backrest of the seat painfully. She didn't notice though. She buried her head in her hands and shook it.
"She has another kid doesn't she?" she mumbled into her hands. Brittany's head snapped to look at her.
"What?"
"A girl" Julia said.
Santana groaned.
"What?" Brittany asked again, sounding panicked. Santana lifted her head to look at her.
"She's three years old" Julia continued, wanting to get as much out before the outburst she knew was coming from Santana. She had been dealing with these women for three months, and though she liked them a lot and thought they were amazing parents, Santana's tongue and temper was not something she was excited about facing. "She'd been taken into our custody three times before we finally removed her permanently about four months ago. She's been placed with seven foster homes in that time, actually I just had to pick her up from the seventh one early this morning, at around 4 am."
"Why?" Brittany asked, unable to restrain herself.
"Look" Santana cut in, before Julia could answer. Julia bit her lip nervously. "I…we already have two kids. We have twins, who just turned four themselves" she said, shaking her head. "Britt…we were barely prepared for a baby. We…I….we can't…"
"We can't take in another kid" Brittany finished. She was in the same head-space as Santana, she just hadn't been able to bring herself to say it. How can you say that you won't take a three year old girl who has no one, but want her baby brother? It felt wrong, but they just couldn't do it. "We can't go from two kids to four. We can't have four kids under the age of five. It's….it's too much, and we are in no way prepared for that at all. We don't have anywhere for her to sleep, there's no bed or clothes or…I mean…and we haven't talked to our kids."
"We told Jesus and Kyler we were getting a baby brother for them tomorrow, but this...Julia"
"I understand that this is a lot. I am in no way trying to pressure you to take her, and you definitely don't have to. It's just that we tend to try and place siblings in the same home, and I thought I should tell you about her."
The room was silent but for the sound of blocks being thrown around, and Jesus' singing. Santana sighed.
"Maybe….can we meet her?"
"What?" Brittany asked in astonishment. "Santana?"
"Britt…she's his sister." Brittany rubbed her forehead, burying her nose in Kyler's hair. "She's already ours."
Julia smiled, proud of herself for her judgement in character.
"Is she here?" Brittany finally asked. Julia nodded.
"Yeah. We haven't been able to find an emergency placement for her."
"Okay" Brittany said, nodding as if trying to convince herself.
"Should I go get her?"
"Yes" both Brittany and Santana said.
"Okay. Before I do, there are some things I should tell you."
"There's a twin?" Santana asked, half joking half serious.
Julia laughed shaking her head. "No. There are just some things about her that will be important to know before you take her home."
"Oh my god" Brittany sighed, shaking her head and standing up. "I can't even believe this."
"What is it?" Santana asked.
"Well, the most important things, are that she has severe anxiety and a fear of strangers, mostly men."
"Aren't most kids scared of strangers?" Brittany asked.
"Maybe. But she is terrified. She has panic attacks, won't voluntarily go anywhere near a man, and if she finds herself with one, cries none stop."
"Why?"
"The child psychiatrist says it is because of severe abuse from her father."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Santana spat, though Brittany thought it sounded extremely defeated.
"Unfortunately not" Julia said. "She also is not potty trained, or anywhere near getting there"
"I assume that's because of neglect" Santana sighed. "Considering her mother was a drug addict and her father was a drug dealer"
"Your guess is as good as ours, but yes, that's the most likely case scenario."
"Poor baby," Brittany said, sitting back down. "What else?"
"She struggles to eat"
"Was she also born with drugs in her?" Santana asked angrily.
"It's possible, but there isn't any trace of it. She is three after all, but there are no developmental setbacks if that's what you're worried about. She's a very quiet girl. She doesn't say much, but I think that's more to do with her feeling unsafe, and never having been given an opportunity to be herself, than drugs."
"Well drugs are still the issue technically."
"Yes but…you know what I mean." Santana nodded.
"Is there anything else?" Brittany asked. Kyler was beginning to squirm in her arms, so she knew they had been there for a long time.
"Everything else I think you will be able to identify pretty easily. She's not a difficult child just…scared."
Brittany and Santana nodded in understanding.
"Can I get her?"
"Please do" Santana said, standing up and walking to Jesus. Julia left the room.
"Santana" Brittany said quietly, walking with Kyler to the play mat and sitting cross-legged.
"Baby" Santana replied, pulling Jesus between her legs and helping him stack the Legos into a tower.
"This is crazy right?"
"Insane"
"But…we're doing the right thing." She paused, looking at Jesus and Kyler. "Right?"
"Mama" Jesus asked quietly.
"My love?"
"Is our baby brother coming today?"
"Yes he is"
"And sister" Kyler added. Santana looked up, taken back by his comment. She caught Brittany's eye and Brittany shrugged.
"Sister?" Jesus asked, looking up at Santana in confusion.
"Yeah honey" Santana confirmed. "What do you guys think about that?"
"Girls are okay" Kyler said casually, moving off Brittany's lap from the first time in almost two hours.
"You and mama are girls" Jesus added. Santana and Brittany laughed.
"Yes we are." Brittany said.
"And Tia Ashley is your sister right mama?" Kyler asked Brittany.
"Yes she is my sister."
"What do you think about that?" Jesus parroted. Brittany laughed.
"I think it's great."
"Then I think it's great too." Jesus told her.
Santana smiled at Brittany just as the door opened.
Brittany and Santana stood up immediately as in walked a tiny girl, smaller than Jesus and Kyler, slightly paler than Brittany, who was in a pink dress that reached just above her knees, which were slightly red. There was a cut on one of her shins, though it wasn't very deep. It was more like a scratch. Her hair was long, falling to the small of her back, the lightest shade of blonde that Santana or Brittany had ever seen, and very curly. It had clearly not been combed in a long time, so it cascaded wildly over her shoulders, a lot of it obscuring her face, and making her look even smaller than she was. And her eyes. Santana took a step forward as she locked eyes with her. They were green, just like Niki's. Piercing and deep, and intoxicating. Santana smiled, and the girl cocked her head to the right, watching her intently.
Santana had gone through nothing remotely resembling anything this little girl had endured, but as she watched her take in the room, she understood what she was doing. She was only three, but she was assessing everyone and everything, judging what the likelihood of danger would be if she proceeded. Santana saw Brittany come to the same conclusion, watching as she knelt down. Santana smiled. She wasn't surprised at all. Brittany was the most empathetic person she ever met. She could put herself in anyone's shoes, and understand in a split second, what the best way to deal with them would be. Santana followed her lead, kneeling beside her.
Everyone was silent for a long time, as the girl watched them. She made no move to come closer, but she didn't seem scared. Kyler and Jesus were standing beside Santana, having tried to run to her. She had her arm around them both, keeping them in place.
"Hi" Jesus said, waving enthusiastically at her. "What's your name?"
The girl seemed slightly startled at being addressed, but after a moment, she walked forward until she was three or four feet in front of them.
"You ve same" she informed them.
"We're twins" Kyler told her. "We were born at the same time, so we look the same."
"We're four years old" Jesus said, showing four fingers. She frowned at him.
"You're three" Kyler told her. He took her hand and showed her how to make three fingers.
Julia stumbled forward, then stopped abruptly. Santana raised an eyebrow in question.
"She usually hates being touched" Julia said in answer. Santana looked back at the three kids and smiled. Trust her sons to be the exception to the rule.
"Free" she said.
"Yeah" Jesus said proudly, nodding his head. "Four is more than three, so that means we're your big brothers." She cocked her head to the side.
"You know what big brothers are?" Kyler asked.
"I have a brover" she said slowly, like she wasn't sure. "He's a baby but he lost."
"Oh" Jesus said. "Mami said he's coming today"
"Mami?"
Kyler and Jesus nodded, pointing at Santana.
"That's mami, and that's mama" they pointed at Brittany.
"Mama"
"Yeah" they said with huge smiles that matched Brittany's and Santana's.
"What about mummy and daddy?" she whispered, looking at Julia with tears in her eyes. Julia shook her head.
"No honey. They're gone. They're not coming back okay?"
"Gone fover?"
"Forever" Julia confirmed. "You'll live with them now" she pointed at Santana and Brittany. The little girl stepped closer to Jesus and Kyler, so that she was almost standing between them. Kyler took her hand.
"And big brovers?"
Jesus giggled. "Of course silly" he said, taking her other hand. "We all live together. We're family."
"Family?"
"Yeah" Kyler said. "Mami sings, and everyone knows her cause she sings really good. She sings all the time" Santana laughed, nodding. The girl smiled at her for the first time. "If we want she sings for us before we go to sleep, and we always sing songs when she's cooking." He moved forward so he was standing in front of Brittany. "Mama dances" the little girls eyes widened and her smile grew. "Mami says she's the best dancer in the whole world."
"Really?" she asked Santana in a small voice. Santana nodded, still smiling.
"The bestest ever."
The girl turned to face Brittany with a look of awe.
"She doesn't dance as much as mami sings" Kyler continued, "but she has a special room with a big, big mirror, and when she dances you can see like…five of her."
"Wow" the girl said. Brittany grinned at her.
"She always lets us dance with her. Sometimes we have dance parties, and mama and mami always play with us whatever we want." Jesus said.
"Always?" she asked, her voice getting stronger.
"Whenever you want" Brittany told her. She smiled again.
"I'm Kyler. I like football and swimming the most, but I also like soccer and basketball and baseball. We have a swimming pool in our house, I'll show you. And I'll play with you on the grass if you'd like. I always like playing."
"Not as much as me. Sometimes he gets tired." Jesus said. The girl giggled. Santana turned to Brittany with her mouth slightly open. 'So cute' she mouthed. Brittany nodded. It was indeed a very cute giggle. Kyler frowned at Jesus slightly before continuing.
"My brother is Jesus. He never gets tired. He's always running and shouting and singing. He likes singing like mami." Jesus nodded proudly, leaning more into Santana. Santana kissed his temple. The girl blinked, staring at Santana like she couldn't understand something, but she never asked a question, so Santana didn't address it. "He's also messy. He never picks up his toys or his clothes"
"I do" Jesus protested, pushing Kyler.
"Nu-uh, and he also likes pushing."
"Only him, cause he always makes me angry, but I won't push you, cause you're not annoying right?" the little girl laughed fully this time, shaking her head. "Good."
"He also remembers everything. Tell him something now, and see if he remembers tomorrow."
"Uuuhhh," the girl drew out. "My name is Sophia."
"No silly. Not your name." Jesus laughed. "Everyone will remember your name." she laughed with him, relaxing significantly in comparison to when she'd walked in.
"Okay silly" she said, and Brittany and Santana beamed at each other. "Huga waga willie ha."
The three kids descended into more laughter, and Santana and Brittany left them to themselves as they went to talk to Julia.
"Amazing" Julia said when they were a few feet away. "She's so…open and happy and…"
"Like a child?" Brittany said.
"Yes. I'm really optimistic about this placement. I think you guys are her new family."
"Of course we are" Santana said, turning to look at the three kids. "Look at them."
"She fits right in" Brittany commented, watching as Kyler pulled her along with him, running away from Jesus, who was roaring like a lion. She was laughing loudly, giggling and squealing, and the whole time she never let go of Kyler's hand.
"Well" Julia said. "Since I take it you want her…"
"Yes"
"Then I'll get the paperwork, and bring you Owen."
"Uh...Julia" Brittany said
"Yes?"
"Owen was what they called him at the hospital. Can we change it?"
"When you adopt him, yes you can. Of course."
"Okay….great" Santana said, turning once again to face the kids. "Four kids" she said, shaking her head.
"I know" Brittany said, sitting down on the chair. "We're not even 30. We're really insane"
"Well, I always tell you the rules don't apply to us" Santana said, "Even when we make decisions that are 100 per cent crazy."
"But so right"
"Perfect" she said, as Sophia ran straight towards her, squealing and giggling, colliding with her legs before hiding behind them. "Absolutely perfect."