Chapter 26: The Way
Santana and Rachel were standing in the hallway of McKinley high school with Quinn, Brittany, Artie, Blaine, Kurt, and Mercedes, discussing songs for Nationals before school, when, suddenly Santana cursed, "Shit, I forgot!"
"Forgot what Sweetie?" Rachel looked up at her.
Rachel had become more attentive lately. She didn't want Santana thinking that she didn't care. She also knew how important these physically therapy sessions were to her, especially since she was getting better, by a lot. Santana still had some troubles, but at least she could stand and walk again.
Santana looked up and sighed, running a hand through her hair, "I have to take my mom to the hospital after Glee. She has a checkup. She is due at any minute."
"Do you want me to go with you Sweetie?" Rachel asked.
"No, it's okay Honey," Santana shook her head. "But you can come over after."
Rachel smiled at her, "Of course, I would love to come over."
"Do you know what the gender of the baby is?" Blaine asked Santana.
Santana looked at him and shook her head, "No, Mami wanted to keep it a surprise."
Kurt smiled excitedly, "But you haves names for either gender, right?"
"For a girl it will be Isabella Luna Lopez and for a boy Michael Carlos Lopez," Santana smiled sadly.
Her mother thought that naming her after Santana's father would help them remember him, not that Santana needed a reminder. It would still be nice. She wasn't sure whether she was getting a brother or a sister, she didn't really care either way. She was going to protect her little sibling because it was the last thing her father left behind and she was going to do what he couldn't anymore.
Everyone gave her a small, sad smile and Quinn grabbed her hand, "That is really sweet."
Santana smiled at everyone else, "Thanks Quinn, but now is not the time to be sad. We are supposed to be happy and excited to finally get our deserved win at Nationals."
That caused everyone to smile with glee (all the puns intended) and get excited about Nationals again. Rachel wrapped her arm around Santana's waist and kissed her shoulder before resting her head on the shoulder she kissed. Santana smiled and kissed her head, resting her cheek on the crown of Rachel's head, watching her friends talk animatedly.
Santana would admit this out loud, but she loved hanging around the Glee Club. They were the best family that she could have hoped for. She loved her mom and she knew that she was going to love her little brother or sister no matter what, but this was a different kind of family. They didn't have to love and accept each other, but they did anyway. Sure they had their ups and downs, but in the end, they would stick up for each other and help them when they needed it the most.
The bell rang signaling them to go to class. They all hugged each other and said their goodbyes, promising to meet up for lunch. Santana and Rachel started walking toward their class, talking about when Rachel should come over.
Santana was upset that she was missing the first day of Nationals rehearsals, but she also knew that she needed to be there for her mother since she had no one else. Sometimes it was hard without her Papi here, but she was glad that she could still help out her mother.
Rachel gave Santana a sweet and gentle kiss before going inside their classroom. They sat through the day and went to have lunch with the Glee Club. At the end of the day, Rachel and Santana walked to the latter's car.
Santana leaned against the door and smiled at Rachel, pulling her in for a kiss. Rachel pulled away first and smiled up at her, "Call me when the appointment is over and I will be over as soon as I can."
Santana nodded, "I will, I can't wait to see you tonight."
Rachel giggled and kissed her nose, "You, Santana Lopez, are a goofball."
"Yes, but you love this goofball," Santana grinned widely, showing off her teeth.
"I can't deny that," Rachel laughed and kissed her again before she started to walk off. "Don't be late getting your mom to her appointment."
"Wouldn't dream of it babe," Santana smiled and got into her car.
She drove to her house and picked up her mother before taking her to the hospital for her appointment. When they were called into the room to wait for the doctor, Santana sat in a chair by the bed and talked to her mom, waiting for the doctor.
The doctor walked in and started the appointment by asking her mother questions about how her health has been and if there has been any problems recently. They then did the ultrasound to check on the baby and making sure that there were no problems.
When they appointment was over and Maria had gotten her sonogram pictures, they walked out to the car. As they were walking, Santana called Rachel, "Hey baby girl, Mami just finished her appointment and we are on our way home."
Rachel smiled a little when she answered the phone, "Okay, I will be there soon Sanny."
"Alright, I'll see you when you get here. I love you," Santana replied as she unlocked the doors to her car.
"I love you too," Rachel told her before she hung up the phone so she could grab her things and leave to Santana's house.
Santana got into the car, with a huge grin on her face and her mother smiled knowingly at her. Santana scrunched her eyebrows as she started the car, "What Mami?"
"You love her," Maria stated as she put on her seatbelt.
Santana looked at her incredulously before she pulled out of the space, "Mami, you already know that I love her. Where have you been?"
She had no idea why her mother was just saying this now. They have been making declarations of love to each other for a while now. It was no secret from anyone that they loved each other. Santana was worried that her mother was starting to get Alzheimer's and she forgot that Rachel and Santana love each other. And if she was forgetting that they loved each other, did she also forget that her husband was dead too? Was Santana going to have to be a bad guy and remind her mother that Carlos was dead?
Before she get too much further into her thinking, Maria answered her, "I know that you guys have been telling each other that you love one another, but I mean you are in love with her."
Santana was confused. Was there a difference? "I don't understand Mami, isn't that the same thing?"
Maria shook her head, "Mija, there is a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. You can love someone, but never be in love with them."
"I don't understand Mami," Santana shook her head, glancing at her at a red light.
"Mija, when you love someone it's, well it's like singing. You sing because it brings you joy and you do it whenever you can. You always want to sing. But, you do not need it to survive. Being in love is like oxygen. You need it in order to survive, you can't go on without it. You are in love with Rachel, you want what's best for her and what will make her happy. That's why you don't say much about her being busy all that time and not being able to see her. Yes, you had that one fight about it, but it was really just because you were upset you couldn't see her. But, you understood that it made her happy and that's why you didn't try to convince her to stop.
"If you weren't in love with her, you probably would have tried to make her stop or quit something so that she could be around you. You put her needs above your own, that is being in love with someone. Loving someone is a choice, being in love; that's not a choice, it just happens."
Santana wasn't sure how to respond to what her mother said. She thought back to when she first started crushing on Rachel. She tried so hard to not like this ambition driven, Broadway loving, talkative diva, but for the life of her, she couldn't. She was attracted to her and no matter what she did, she could not be turned off of her.
She had always assumed it was just the fact that the diva refused to give up on her and believed in her. That she had just been attracted to the idea that someone, other than Brittany had believed that there was something more to her than the cold bitchy exterior that she tended to show.
Then when she started to date Rachel, she thought that maybe there was something there, that maybe she had loved all the things that she used to hate about Rachel, because she realized that there was no one else in the world like Rachel. That Rachel made her feel important and that she could accomplish anything that she set her mind to.
Then she realized that she wanted what was best for Rachel, she wanted to see Rachel succeed and do what she loved. She wanted to see Rachel happy and be part of what made her happy. That her heart hurt whenever Rachel was hurt or upset and she just wanted to make sure Rachel didn't feel like that anymore.
Santana realized that she was in fact in love with Rachel Berry because she knew that she would never be able to live her life anymore if Rachel was no longer in it. She didn't care if Rachel wasn't in love with her right now. She would continue to make Rachel happy. She would care for and respect Rachel because that is what she deserved.
Rachel was the reason for Santana waking up and going to sleep with a smile on her face. She was the reason that Santana wanted to be a better person. She was the reason that Santana didn't fall into depression when her father died. Rachel made Santana a better person and Santana wanted to always be with her.
Santana wanted to spend the rest of her life with Rachel and even if that's not what Rachel wanted, Santana would still love her anyway.
She was lost so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't realized that she had pulled into the driveway and that her mother had gotten out. In fact, she didn't come back to her senses until there was a tap on her window and she looked up to see the object of her day dream.
Rachel was staring at her with an amused smile on her face as Santana opened the door, "Where did you go there?"
"You," Santana smiled at her as she got out and closed the door. She gave Rachel a sound kiss and when they pulled away, elaborated, "I was thinking about how much I love you."
Rachel smiled and put her arms around Santana's neck, "That was some pretty hard thinking."
Santana leaned against her car door, put her hands on Rachel's hips and pulled her close, "Think of you will always occupy most of my time."
Rachel blushed and kissed her lightly, "How was your mom's appointment?"
"Good. The doctor didn't see anything wrong so, she is just fine. Her due date is coming soon though, just one more month until I get a baby sibling," Santana smiled. She was actually really excited to be an older sister.
Rachel could see the excitement in her girlfriends face at the prospect of a sibling and it made her happy. She hadn't seen Santana happy in a long while. She knew Santana had always wanted a brother or sister.
In a way, Rachel was jealous. Rachel had wanted a sibling, but her dads had only wanted Rachel. She knew that her fathers never wanted a second child, but still, she had hoped and dreamed. She watched all the shows growing up of how siblings could end up the best of friends. If Rachel had a brother or sister, then maybe she would have had a friend growing up. Instead she was left alone, with no one to turn to when someone picked on her, or the solo was given to someone else. She was the only one with gay parents in Lima Ohio and she thought that maybe if she had a sibling, she wouldn't have felt so alienated.
She knew it wasn't right of her to be jealous of Santana because the girl was getting something she couldn't have, but she was still a little upset. She shook her head to clear her mind and smiled at Santana, "I am glad that your sibling is going to be healthy and happy. I can't wait to meet them."
"Me too," Santana smiled and kissed her. "Let's go inside.
Rachel smiled and followed Santana into the house, up to her room where they laid on her bed and snuggled. They held each other and didn't even notice they had fallen asleep until Rachel's phone went off.
Rachel groaned and answered her phone, "Hello?"
"Rachel? Where are you? Tonight is supposed to be our Bette Midler night. We planned this weeks ago," her father, LeRoy, greeted her.
"Oh my gosh Daddy, I so forgot. I was with Santana and I guess we just fell asleep. I can be back home in like 20 minutes. I'm so sorry," Rachel exclaimed as she got out of the bed.
"Oh, you are with Santana?" LeRoy asked. "Why don't you invite her and her mother over. We have more than enough here. We would so enjoy seeing Maria again. They can join in on our Bette night."
Rachel rubbed her eyes, "I can relay the invite to them, but I am not sure Santana and her mother would be enraptured by our festivities. I will see you when I get home."
"Bye Sweetheart," LeRoy hung up the phone and Rachel set hers down as she stood up and groaned.
"What's up babe? What won't Mami and I enjoy?" Santana asked through a yawn as she sat up.
"Dad and Daddy wanted me to invite you guys over for dinner and Bette Midler night," Rachel told her as she slipped on her shoes.
Santana slipped out of the covers and stood up, "What is Bette Midler night?"
Rachel looked at her as she put her sweater back on, "We eat dinner then we reenact either our favorite scene, Emmy, Tony, Grammy, Golden Globe, or People's choice award speech, or song from Bette Midler. Then we watch Beaches in the living room together. It is our favorite movie."
"I don't mind coming over for that," Santana said and walked towards the door. "I can go ask Mami."
"Are you sure? I don't want you two doing something just for me if you don't really want you," Rachel told her, looking at her retreating form.
Santana stopped at the door and turned back to smile at her, "Babe, I will always love spending time with you. No matter what we are doing. And I am sure that my mother would love to hang out with adults her own age."
"Okay, if you say so," Rachel told her after a beat.
Santana smiled and blew her a kiss before she walked out to talk to her mom. Rachel sat on her bed, thinking while she waited for her girlfriend. She didn't want to freak Santana and Maria out with her family's crazy traditions. Not that Santana didn't already know about the weird dinners they had, she had just never been there for one.
Before she could delve too much into those thoughts, Santana came back in the room smiling. She gave Rachel a quick kiss and told her that her mom would love to have dinner with them. Rachel smiled and stood, putting on her shoes along with Santana.
The three left the Lopez residence ten minutes later and were on their way to the Berry house for some good old-fashion Bette Midler dinner theatre. When they got to the house, Rachel walked in first with the Lopez girls following her.
"Dad? Daddy? We are here," Rachel called out as she closed the door. "I can take your jacket."
"Thank you," Maria smiled and handed her the jacket.
The Berry men came out and embraced Santana, "Hello Santana. How are you today."
"I am doing great, how are you two?" Santana smiled as she hugged them back.
"We are doing great," LeRoy smiled before turning to look at Maria. "Hello Maria, how are you and the baby today?"
"We are both doing great," Maria smiled at him. "Thank you for inviting us over tonight, you have a very lovely home."
"It is a pleasure to have you here," Hiram told her then looked at the two teens. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. If you want, you two can sit and talk in the living room while us adults talk in the kitchen."
"If that's okay with you Daddy," Rachel looked at him. When he nodded, she kissed his cheek and then LeRoy's cheek before grabbing Santana's hand and taking her to the living room.
Santana sat first then pulled Rachel into her lap and kissed her temple, "Hello Beautiful."
Rachel giggled and kissed her nose, "Hello Gorgeous. You are a dork, you do realize this right?"
"I'm only a dork around you," Santana nuzzled into her. "I just love being around you. You make me feel so much better."
"Did something happen at the doctors that you didn't tell me earlier?" Rachel asked as she ran her fingers through Santana's hair.
Santana sighed in contentment and closed her eyes, "No, I just am thinking about how hard it's going to be with a new baby around."
Rachel hummed and kissed her head, "It will be, but if anyone can handle it, it's you."
Santana held on to her tighter and nodded a little, "I know, but it still scares me."
"Santana Lopez scared? Someone call me an ambulance, I think I am having a heart attack," Rachel teased her.
"Shut up," Santana whined. "I'm serious. What if I am a horrible sister and I drop them on their head?"
"Santana, you are not going to be a horrible sister," Rachel told her. "You are going to love them and protect them. You will be the best big sister ever."
Santana looked up at her, "How do you know?"
"Because I know you," Rachel cupped her cheek. "And you are the best person I know. You are passionate, loving, smart, charismatic and just the most amazing person."
Santana looked at her before leaning up and giving her a kiss, "Thank you."
"Anytime baby," Rachel smiled and kissed her back.
Santana pulled away and settled her head back on Rachel's chest, closing her eyes again. Rachel stroked her hair as she sat on her lap, thinking to herself. She wanted to reduce the stress that Santana was feeling, but she wasn't sure how. She knew that the Latina was worried for her mother and her unborn sibling, but Rachel didn't want her burning herself out.
Santana often got passionate and forgets to take care of herself in her pursuit to help loved ones. She forgets to slow down and breathe. To let herself relax. One day that was going to cause problems for the young girl.
They were soon called into the kitchen and Rachel stood off of her lap and held her hand out, "Come on baby, let's go eat."
Santana moaned tiredly, but took her hand and stood. She followed her girlfriend into the dining room and they sat in their seats, holding hands under the table. They were having vegan alfredo noodles and garlic bread with a garden salad on the side.
"This all looks wonderful," Maria smiled at the men who gave her their thanks before they all dug into their meals.
After they were finished and cleaned up, they moved into the living room to start their night of all things Bette Midler. LeRoy and Hiram started it off by respectively doing their reenactment of her 1980 and 1992 Golden Globe acceptance speeches. Rachel then did a scene from the movie, The Rose.
Once they were done, they put on Beaches and settled down for the night. Santana and Rachel curled up together and watched it. Rachel quietly sang along and watched intently. It was her favorite Bette Midler movie, though the end always made her cry. She watched the scene in the mall and mouthed the line, "You are so jealous you can hardly breathe," along with Bette.
When CC went to see Hilary in the hospital, Rachel started to bawl and Santana rubbed her back and kissed her head. Rachel didn't know why she still cried, but it got to her every time. Once it was over, they sat talking about it since it was the first time either Lopez had seen the movie.
Maria noticed her daughters head starting to droop despite her efforts to stay awake due to the fact that it was only 8:47, "Well Santana and I should get home so she can get some rest."
"No Mami, I don't want you to leave because of me," Santana protested.
"Honey you are obviously tired, we don't want to keep you up," Maria told her daughter.
"It's okay, I can just rest here and listen to you guys talk," Santana told her. She moved down a little so her head was resting on Rachel's lap. "Continue, spend time with adults your age."
Maria looked at her daughter before continuing to quietly talk with the Berry's. Rachel ran her fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp. Santana was asleep in no time at all.
They kept talking for a few hours before Maria stood, "I should be getting home and to bed. If it's alright with you men, I think I will just leave Santana here for the night. She seems to get the best rest when she's with Rachel."
"That is perfectly alright with us," LeRoy smiled before the men stood to walk Maria out.
Rachel gently woke Santana, "San baby, wake up."
"Hmm, I don't wanna go yet," Santana whined sleepily without opening her eyes.
"You aren't leaving Sweetie. You are just coming up to my room, you are spending the night here," Rachel told her softly.
Santana groaned and sat up sluggishly, still with closed eyes. She stood and her arms hung by her side as Rachel stood and led her upstairs as she still refused to open up her tired eyes.
Santana stood in the middle of Rachel's room as the diva undressed her and put her in a pair of shorts and a tank top. She then flopped on the bed and waited for Rachel to change and get in with her, before curling into her side and immediately falling back to sleep.
Rachel laid in bed, rubbing her shoulder gently before finally falling asleep herself. They had both had a long day and were worn out. They were just glad that they go to end it in each other's arms.
A week later the entire glee club were in a conference room in the hotel they were staying at for Nationals. They were running through the group number over and over until they perfected it. Some were starting to complain about being tired as they kept stopping and starting again.
Santana stood with her hands on her knees, sweat dripping down her face as Mr. Shue went over something with Mercedes, Kurt, Finn, and Puck. Rachel ran her hand across her back, "Breathe baby. Do you want me to ask Mr. Shue for a break?"
Santana shook her head, "No, I want to keep going. We need to get this."
Before Rachel could answer, Mr. Shue called them to restart again. On the fifth restart since Mr. Shue worked with the four, Santana cried out and stumbled on her step, falling to one knee before Rachel grabbed her to stop her from face planting of the hard ground.
"What's wrong Sanny?" Brittany asked as everyone turned to the Latina.
"She's having a muscle spasm in her back from over exerting herself," Rachel told them as she grabbed Santana's hand. "Shh baby, breathe. Relax."
Santana gripped her hand until her own turned white, the other gripping her girlfriends shoulder that she didn't have her forehead rested on as she whimpered in pain. Rachel didn't mid the pain because she knew that her girlfriend was feeling much worse.
Suddenly everyone felt horrible for complaining that they were tired when Santana was here, over working herself without one complaint because she wanted them to be the best that they could be, no matter what it did to her.
Santana cried out again and gripped her tighter as the whole club saw her spasm. Rachel only kissed her head and whispered into her ear, "Breathe in slowly and let it out. Shh, it will pass."
The ex-cheerleader did as she was told, taking a few shuddering breaths before whimpering softly, "Rach, I can't. It hurts."
"I know baby, I know," Rachel cooed softly in her ear. Rachel held her as she started to cry into her shoulder. Rachel held her until she was only letting out shuddering breath, "Come on, let's go lay you down on the couch."
Rachel helped her stand and brought her to the couch to lay down. Once she was settled Mr. Shue looked at everyone, "Why don't we take an hour break for lunch? I'll go get pizza from down the street."
Everyone agreed and Mr. Shue left. Rachel sat on the floor by Santana's head and kept whispering in her ear. The club sat away from them, talking quietly, occasionally glancing at the couple. Rachel brushed Santana's hair back from her face and looked over at the group, "Quinn, can you get a wet wash cloth please?"
Quinn nodded and rushed out of the room. Santana groaned in protest, "Babe, stop it. I'm fine."
"No you aren't," Rachel told her. "You don't have to act tough, you need to rest."
Santana stopped fighting with her and let her tend to her. Quinn came back with the wash cloth and Rachel placed it on Santana's forehead. Mr. Shue came back with the pizzas and Rachel helped Santana sit up to nibble on a piece.
When she finished, Rachel laid her back, "Get some rest baby. We still have a little over 30 minutes."
Santana nodded and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off into sleep. Rachel leaned against the couch and let out a long sigh. Finn came over to sit next to her, "How are you holding up?"
"It's hard. I hate seeing her struggle and being in so much pain. It hurts me, but I need to be strong for her now because I know that she is trying to be strong for her mother," Rachel told him.
"I know that it can be difficult to see the ones you love hurt, but it's there that song, 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?'" Rachel nodded at him and he continued. "This is all just making the both of you stronger. You will come out on top with a better understanding of each other and the world."
"Thank you Finn, that was some good advice," Rachel smiled at him.
Finn smiled back at her and bumped her shoulder, "I know that I don't typically give the best advice so I'm glad to have it once in a while."
After that they fell into an easy silence as they waited for the break to be over. In the end Mr. Shue decided to call it a day and that they could use the hour before the competition tomorrow to work out the kinks.
Santana and Rachel went up to the room they were sharing with the rest of the girls to lay in bed and watch some movies. The rest of the day went pretty easy for the two and the next morning found them getting ready to go out on the national stage.
They were going to be the 14th to go today and that made them pretty nervous because middle spot wasn't exactly a good play to go in. They took it in stride though and watched as the rest of the group did their set.
When it was finally time for the New Directions to take the stage, Santana gave Rachel a sound kiss and a big grin. Mercedes took the stage and got ready for her solo, the rest of the New Directions watching from the sides, encouraging her to continue.
The song she had chosen to sing started off with a soft hi-hat rhythm then incorporated the key board and a guitar. It has a slow, jazzy feel to it. When Mercedes started, it wasn't her normal, big brassy voice, instead it was a soft, sultry tone.
"Woke up this morning with a smile on my face, jumped out of bed, took a shower, dressed, cleaned up my place. Made me some breakfast, toast, two scrambled eggs, grits. Grabbed my keys, grabbed my purse, grabbed my jacket off to work, beaming all the way down 3rd. Is it the way you love me baby?
Is it the way you love me baby?"
When Mercedes had first started practicing the song with the rest of the New Directions, they had been a little hesitant. The content of the song had been a little off putting. They didn't think that singing about her morning routine was very excited. In fact, had thought the opposite. They quickly changed their tune. If Mercedes could make breakfast sound sexy, then the judges shouldn't have any qualms about the song.
"Four thirty, can't wait to get home. Nah, girl, I got something else to do, go 'head, really, get your groove on 'cause tonight my man's coming through, yes. We gonna have to connect some other time. As much as I like to shake my thang on the dance floor. I got another nasty, freaky just right way in mind, tonight I'm gonna beat the high score. Is it the way you love me baby? Is it the way you love me baby? Is it the way you love me baby? Is it the way you love me baby?"
The end of the song was met with a thunderous applause from the audience and the rest of the New Directions. Mercedes walked off the stage, smiling at a passing Santana and Rachel as they went out to do their rendition of 'So Emotional'. The duo was met with an enthusiastic applause and cheering.
The two girls smiled at each other as the rest of the New Directions filed onto the stage to do their final group number. They all stood in formation facing away from the audience as the opening music started. Finn turned around to take the first part as everyone else did the routine, harmonizing with Finn.
"Desert loving in your eyes all the way. If I listened to your lies would you say, I'm a man without conviction. I'm a man who doesn't know how to sell a contradiction. You come and go. You come and go."
The rest of the club turned around to sing the chorus together, doing the choreography for it. They were all together and on beat, looking synchronized for probably the first time ever.
"Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon, you come and go, you come and go. Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dream, red gold and green, red gold and green."
The next verse was taken by Sam and the rest of the group swayed and harmonized with him.
"Don't hear your wicked words every day and you used to be so sweet, I heard you say that my love was an addiction. When we cling our love is strong. When you go you're gone forever. You string along, you string along."
They sang the chorus once again. Tina and Quinn took the next part of the song after that.
"Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon, you come and go, you come and go. Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dream, red gold and green, red gold and green. Every day is like survival, you're my lover, not my rival. Every day is like survival, you're my lover, not my rival."
They took a small dance break between the two parts of the verse. The group pairing off, doing lifts spins and twirls. When the last of the verse came up, Puck took it. The group then ended the song with the 3 time repetition of the chorus.
"I'm a man without conviction. I'm a man who doesn't know how to sell a contradiction. You come and go. You come and go. Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon, you come and go, you come and go. Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dream, red gold and green, red gold and green. Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon, you come and go, you come and go. Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dream, red gold and green, red gold and green. Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon, you come and go, you come and go. Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dream, red gold and green, red gold and green."
When the song ended, they got a roaring standing ovation from the audience. They all smiled at each other as they exited the stage so that the next group could go up. They all cheered as they walked back to their staging room.
They all sat in the chairs, on the couches, and on the floor, talking excitedly as they waited for the rest of the acts to be over and for the top three to be picked.
As they were talking, Santana's phone went off and she asked everyone to quiet down so she could hear, "Hola Mami. Woah, disminuya la velocidad. Que esta pasando?" Santana listened to her mother on the phone for a second before her eyes went wide and she shot up, "espera mami. Estaré ahí pronto. Llama a una ambulancia y te veré en una hora. Sólo debería tomar unos 45 minutos desde donde estoy. Estará bien, solo espera."
"San, what is going on?" Rachel asked her girlfriend as she ran to get her jacket.
"My mom has gone into labor. I have to go," Santana said frantically.
"Oh my God," was the reaction from everyone in the room. Thy had not been expecting that, though, they should have expected it, it was almost the exact same timing as when Quinn had Beth last year. Santana was just glad that Nationals was in Fort Wayne this year. It was just over an hour drive, but Santana already knew that she was going to speed and make it there in less time.
"I need to get there," Santana ran to the door before stopping abruptly. "Shit, I don't have my car. We took the bus here."
Miss Pillsbury grabbed her keys from her purse and tossed them to Santana, "I drove here. I didn't get on the bus with you guys."
"Thank you so much," Santana shot her a grateful look.
"I'll go with you," Rachel said, grabbing her jacket.
"No baby, stay here," Santana told her. She gave her a quick kiss to cut off any arguments she had, "I want you to be here when we are declared winners. You can come see us after you take that trophy. Mami was in labor with me for like 13 hours before I finally popped out. I am sure you won't miss the birth if you stay here until the end."
"Fine, but you call me if she becomes fully dilated before I get there," Rachel conceded.
Santana kissed her again, "I promise."
With that, she ran out to find Miss Pillsbury's car while the others sat in the room, waiting for any news on anything, whether it be the baby or Nationals. Finally, almost an hour and a half later, they were called out onto the stage as one of the top three, which they all cheered for as they walked out to the stage. They stood with the other teams as the judge came out to announce the winner.
The judge stood before the mic and introduced himself before he looked at the card in front of him, "And in third place, from Chattanooga Tennesse, we have the Chitty Nitty's."
The team, dressed in Yellow, cheered and stepped up to take their trophy. They walked off with their trophy and it was just the New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline left on the stage. The announcer was handed a second card and he opened it, pausing for a second before telling them who had come in second and who had won.
When Santana had finally gotten back to Lima and to the hospital, her mother had already been set up in the maternity ward. She ran into the room and to her mothers side, grabbing her hand, "I'm here Mami. I'm sorry I was not here sooner."
"It's okay, you are here now," Maria smiled at her. She winced in pain and squeezed Santana's hand.
"Shh, Está bien mami. Sólo respira," Santana kissed her head and held her hand. "How dilated are you?"
"6 inches," Maria told her.
Santana smiled, "So only 4 more inches."
Maria nodded and looked at Santana, "Where is Rachel?"
"I told her to stay and get our trophy when we are announced winners. She will be here after to see you, so hopefully baby will wait for her," Santana smiled at her mom.
They kept talking, pausing only when they labor pains became too much for Maria. When Rachel finally got there, 2 hours later, Maria was already 9 inches dilated, only an inch to go.
Rachel came in and went to Maria's side, "Hi Mama. How are you?"
"I'm fine, I am just waiting for him or her to come out," Maria smiled at her. She kissed her hand and closed her eyes, "Did you win?"
Rachel looked up at Santana, looking into her eyes, "No we didn't."
Santana felt crushed. She was so sure that they were going to work. She thought that they had enough talent between all of them to take it all. She was wrong, she thought that Mercedes taking the solo would still allow them to win, but it didn't. She was devastated that they couldn't go back to school Monday, holding their new trophy. They were what everyone thought they were. Losers.
Rachel looked at Santana's face and then started laughing, "I am only kidding Baby, of course we won. We were amazing."
Santana broke into a grin and ran around the bed to scoop Rachel off the ground, kissing her all over the face, "We won, we won! God, I am so happy." Santana set Rachel down and kissed her deeply, "I love you Baby. So much."
"I love you too," Rachel grinned and kissed her again before turning back to Maria. "So tonight is doubly special."
Maria nodded as a nurse came in to check on Maria, "Okay. Mama is 10 inches, she is ready to give birth to this little one."
Santana and Rachel smiled, following the nurse and Maria out of the room, wheeling her over to the delivery room. The two teens scrubbed themselves and got prepped to be in the room to be there for the birth.
They walked into the room to see the doctor already starting to work with Maria. Both girls went to her and took her hand in theirs. Santana spoke softly to her mother as she pushed and cried out in pain. She brushed her hair back and just let her squeeze her hand.
It took almost half an hour before there was a cry and everyone smiled. Santana cut the cord and the nurses to the baby to get them cleaned up. When they came back, the nurse smiled and handed the baby to Maria, "it's a girl."
All three women smiled at the baby. She was their Isabella Luna Lopez, she was beautiful. She had her eyes closed and was wrapped in a blanket. Maria smiled at her youngest daughter and kissed her head.
Santana stared at Isabella for a long moment. She couldn't believe that she now had a baby sister, 16 years after she herself was born. She was so happy though, she already loved her sister more than anything and she knew that she was going to protect her from everything no matter what. She was not going to let anything hurt her sister.
Rachel leaned into Santana and kissed her cheek, "She is the most beautiful baby ever San. I know that you are going to have to protect her from all the boys and/or girls that will be coming her way."
"I will protect her from everything," Santana promised as she watched the nurse take Isabella to get her dressed and in a bassinet so that Maria could get some rest. "She will never have to be scared or worried while I am around.
A/N: I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I would like to blame it all on my being busy, which is part of it, a lot of it was just I would start, write a few words, and then stop because I either got distracted or I didn't feel like writing. But I promise this is going to get finished. I have one more chapter left on this and then I will write a sequel, but it will take a little while because I want to write a few chapters for it. I will try and finish this soon however. The last chapter should be up by sometime next week, I swear it. Until next time. Songs are 'The Way' by Jill Scott and 'Karma Chameleon' by the Culture Club.