Chapter 9

Santana's POV

"We should have a rainbow and unicorn theme for the nursery," Brittany said as we walked through aisles of everything baby-related, trying to come up with ideas for the baby's room.

"What if they're a boy?" I asked, quickly realizing my mistake when Brittany's jaw dropped.

"Boys can like unicorns and rainbows too, Santana!" she scolded jokingly.

"And I know that, B, but I think we should choose something else. Would you be able to sleep in a room with that many bright colors?"

"Hmm, I guess that could be hard for a little baby."

"Why don't we do an ocean theme? There are so many cute fish and dolphin and underwater things we could buy." I pointed to a set of cartoon fish crib sheets to try to prove my point. "Plus, you know, our first date was at the aquarium."

"That could work." Brittany smiled. "You're a genius, Santana!"

"I thought that was my line for you," I joked.

So, we started walking through the store with new eyes, searching for anything and everything ocean-themed.

While we'd already ordered all white furniture online to be shipped to us, we didn't have much else. So, we picked out sheet sets, a few blankets, and a lot of plain baby clothes before moving to the things Brittany deemed "more interesting."

She happily picked out a hooded towel with a fin on the back along with a blue baby-sized bathtub before running over to a large selection of stuffed animals, some small, some very, very large.

"Look at this one, Santana!" she exclaimed, motioning to a stuffed dolphin that was (luckily) only about the size of a newborn baby. "It's a gay shark."

I put it in the almost-full shopping cart with a grin as we made our way over to decorations to pick out a few wall stickers and decorations as well as some matching picture frames to hang on the wall.

"Do you think we have everything for now?" I asked when it was getting harder and harder to keep everything in the cart when it moved.

"I don't think it's possible to have everything," she said. "We need books and toys and a car seat and a wrap—remember that video online? —and one of those baby beds that goes in the bedroom for a while and, there are just so many things!" Her voice continued to grow louder until I knew that we needed to leave unless I wanted her to start crying.

After getting all our items in the shopping cart through the check-out, I helped Brittany get into the car before struggling to fit all our purchases into the trunk and backseat. I knew that Brittany was right about needing more things, but a few of them could wait for at least a few days.

Brittany fell asleep as soon as she hit the couch when we got home, while I unloaded everything we'd bought from the car to the baby's room. The walls were a light yellow from the previous owners, but knowing Brittany, we would be painting the walls blue to go with the theme. I knew she wouldn't want me to do anything while she was asleep, so instead I updated our "before baby comes" list.

While Brittany and I did not want a traditional baby shower, we knew that we could not afford everything that we would need for the baby. So, we planned an alternative baby shower, where we asked for financial help with the furniture we had already chosen and ordered. We also gave each person close to us an age range within the first year that they could shop for, so we would not only receive newborn items and stuffed animals. We invited them all over for a meal and spent the evening talking and hearing baby stories. Ultimately, it was a lot better than any traditional baby shower would have been for us.

Setting up the nursery was a lot of work. Once the walls were painted a light aqua, we had our parents help set up the white furniture and decorate the walls with the frames, stickers, and other decorations we had found. Then, we started placing the rest of the baby items we had already gotten into the room, including some clothes and diapers. It was hard to believe how close we were to being ready for the baby.

On the day of Brittany's 25th birthday, I woke up, quickly pressing a kiss to her lips, then to her belly before leaving the warmth of our bed and heading to the kitchen to make her chocolate chip pancakes.

Despite closing the door and hoping the smell of my cooking wouldn't wake her up, she was out of the bedroom and beside me only a few minutes after the first of the batter hit the pan.

"I wanted to surprise you," I said with a pout.

"You really thought that I would sleep through you making chocolate chip pancakes?" she asked.

"I guess not," I mumbled.

She smiled and started eating the first pancake the second it left the pan before dropping it onto the floor, causing an exaggerated pout to form on her lips.

I laughed. "You couldn't have waited just another few seconds?"

"No," she replied. "Baby and I are very hungry."

I smiled. "So, how does it feel? Being 25 and all."

"The same," she mumbled with the pancake that had previously been on the floor now back in her mouth.

"And how is the baby?"

"Great! I felt them move again last night. It's happening all the time now. It kind of makes me wish that I didn't have another two months to be pregnant."

"I know, but we want this baby to come as close to their due date as possible, remember?"

"I know that, Santana," she said.

"I know you know," I replied.

After breakfast, I decided to give Brittany her birthday present, since I couldn't wait any longer.

She unwrapped the present the way she had since high school. Despite how much she loved receiving gifts, she was always very careful when unwrapping presents, so that she could save the wrapping paper for a box her mom had started with her when she was a kid that was filled with wrapping paper from (probably) every gift she'd received since she started it.

When she finally finished unwrapping the present, she smiled at the album she was holding in her arms.

"Is this of us?" she asked before opening up the album to see a picture of us in our Cheerios uniform from high school.

"It's our journey," I replied. "I thought that we should have something to show the baby once they're old enough to wonder about how we met and everything."

She smiled at the most recent photo of us setting up the baby's nursery.

"There are more pages to be filled in the future, too," I continued. "I never want us to forget any moment we've spent together."

"Well, I sure hope I never forget," Brittany replied, "but this is a great reminder."

She smiled before leaning in to kiss me. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I love you more."

"I'm pretty sure I love you more."

"I love you, and you love me the same amount, only I have the baby," Brittany argued. "And the baby loves you, too, so I win."

"Maybe for now."