"Santana, don't you think that will be a little strange, as far as going well with the other items we will have available for consumption?" asked Rachel, brow furrowed, as she gestured towards the kitchen counter, where her roommate was currently setting out several jalapenos, large bags of tortilla chips, and big blocks of cheese among bags of cranberries, cans of pumpkin pie filling, and containers of whipped cream. Santana shrugged without looking back at Rachel, taking her hand and shoving most of the other items aside to make room for her own.

"Tit for tat, Berry. You make your weird vegan crap and insist on leaving the room any time I even mention we should start prepping the turkey, and I make my awesome jalapeno nachos."

"If you would actually try my "weird vegetarian crap" on a regular and unbiased basis, perhaps you would realize that it is actually quite tasty as well as much better for your health than eating of the flesh of animals which are not well known for their cleanliness," Rachel huffed, and Santana smirked, seeing that the other girl had not only picked up some of her sarcasm in the time that they had lived together, but also her tendency to roll her eyes. She only hoped that she hadn't picked up any of Rachel's habits in return. "You know, Santana, eating a turkey is not much more than a step above eating a vulture. They are actually of the same family, generally-"

"Rachel, I would eat a CROW if I knew it would taste good," Santana interrupted, and Dani, from where she was struggling with stirring a lumpy looking bowl of mashed potatoes to the side, looked up with a smirk of her own, eyebrows raised as she shook her newly blue-dyed hair back over her shoulders.

"Probably shouldn't, babe, apparently they're hallucinogens…although that would make the holiday that much more interesting."

"Hey, I might need a little hallucinating by the time we're done with all this crap," Santana gestured widely, encompassing the food, herself, her girlfriend, Rachel, and the room at large. "Has anyone really considered how this thing is gonna go? For one thing, we have a grand total of four chairs in this place and one tiny table, and we're gonna cram six people in, maybe seven if Mami bullied Papi into getting off work somehow?"

"We can borrow chairs from…someone," Rachel replied somewhat lamely, her own forehead creasing as she considered this issue. "Or…we could take turns being the ones to stand?"

"You can sit on my lap, babe, save a chair," Dani grinned slyly, catching Santana's eyes, and when Santana smiled back at her, seeming to be seriously considering this, Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Next thing you know you'll be suggesting Daddy sit on Dad's lap too so we'd be all evened out."

"Sure, why not?" Santana smirked, taking one of the large serving platters that she assumed must have come into the apartment via Rachel, judging by the festive pilgrims and turkeys decorating its surface, and spreading chips over it. "It is the holidays, closeness and family fun…go with the theme, Rachel."

"Oh, so when my dads ask for volunteers to sing the first group number to kick off the holidays, then I suppose I can expect to see your hand raising high, right, Santana?" Rachel shot back, and Santana's smirk died as she glanced quickly at Dani, who appeared every bit as interested in her response as Rachel.

"Is that actually likely to happen…of course it is, it's the Berrys we're talking about here," Santana muttered to herself, sighing loudly and shaking her head. "We don't have a piano, so at least I have that much to be thankful for."

"Oh, Dad probably will bring his keyboard…maybe even his harmonica or kazoo," Rachel replied brightly. "You can't have a group singing session without musical accompaniment, after all."

When Santana turned to gawk at her, mouth open, Rachel giggled, pushing at her shoulder playfully. "I'm kidding…about the harmonica and kazoo, anyway. You can almost certainly count on a keyboard or perhaps a guitar."

"Bring yours, Dani, preventive action. Please," Santana stage whispered to her girlfriend, who just grinned back at her.

"Sure thing, San. What I'm interested in is meeting your parents…think they'll be okay with a blue-haired, tattooed, guitar-playing lesbian with their sweet baby girl?"

"Mami will be cool with it, she'll probably just ask you a bunch of questions like did the tattoos hurt and how big was the needle and do you drip blue dye down your back when you shower," Santana shrugged, beginning to cut jalapenos on a plate and barely glancing back towards Dani as she did so. "Papi, if he even comes, you might get some looks or more likely, avoided eye contact. But it could definitely be worse."

Both she and Dani were quiet for a few moments, thinking of Santana's abuela, who had rejected her upon her initial coming out and had not seen her in years; of Dani's parents, who had also rejected her and would not be meeting Santana, either now nor in the future. Sensing the suddenly heavier mood coming over them, Rachel stepped in between them, putting a hand on each of their shoulders as her own mood grew serious too.

"I hope Kurt's doing all right."

If possible, the atmosphere grew still more pensive, for until now it had gone unspoken that Kurt would not be there with them for Thanksgiving day. He had flown back to Lima yesterday, to spend the holiday with his father and Carol…the first since Finn's death. It couldn't be easy for him or his family; it was not easy for Rachel or even Santana today, and as they thought about this for a few moments, Santana dropped the knife and reached back to cover Rachel's hand with hers.

A few minutes later she would break the mood by flicking a chip at Rachel, who would then flinch, mouth open in surprise and mild indignation. A second chip flick later and Rachel would break out into a grin, dipping a finger in the opened container of whipped cream and flicking it into Santana's hair. A few more backs and forths between them both, with Dani contributing a few flicks of mashed potatoes from her side, and they were all smiling again, but even as they resumed their preparations, the mood was still somehow changed. And as good a time as they did have with their families, a few hours later- complete with Maribel Lopez's questions and the Berry men's insistence on a group sing-a-long, just as their daughters had predicted- Rachel and Santana were both privately relieved when it was over, when Kurt flew back the next day and rejoined them in their own space.

Neither of them asked him how his holiday had went, not the first day, or tried to tell him about their own. Instead Rachel sat down on the couch with him and rested her head against his shoulder, leaning into his side with her arm curved around his waist, and waited for him to lean back into her, his arm circling her shoulders. And when Santana joined them a few minutes later, curling up without comment against his other side, and he pulled her in against him too, the second round of family togetherness was made complete.