The talk that Sam had with Stevie in regards to the girls moving in had oddly gone successfully well. The youngest Evans hadn't said much, but Sam did get duped into buying his little brother a video game for Stevie's Play Station. He couldn't say no when Stevie was being so good. It was a small price to pay and he happily obliged.
The move was relatively smooth…so far. Santana didn't have too many things that she was bringing over–much to his surprise, and Stevie hadn't tried to kill Toni. Of course he thought that too soon. The moment they got back to the house and he heard Toni's happy announcement, he knew that things were not going to end well.
"He's not your daddy! He's my brother and he has to be married to your mommy first!" Stevie shouted back, folding his arms and frowning at Toni.
"Stevie, be nice," Sam said, ruffling his brother's hair.
"Well, you're not…" Stevie bit back, standing his ground.
Sam, not wanting to get into an argument, simply shook his head and said, "Why don't you go to your room while I help Santana and Toni move their stuff?"
He was going to tell his brother to show Toni to her room, but thought better of that. He didn't want World War III to break out, so it was best that he kept the two far apart.
"Okay." Stevie shrugged and ran off towards the house.
"Alright, let's get started on these boxes." He approached the girls, giving Tana a sweet kiss before heading to the back of the rental truck to get started.
"Is too! Does not!" Antonia yelled back, hands on her hips. "He gets to be my daddy now! Don't you?"
She turned to Sam, appealing to him, but was distracted when Sam told her he would help her and Santana. She ran ahead of them to the truck, doing a clumsy effort of a cartwheel and landing in a heap on the grass. Giggling, she got up again and tried again as Santana kissed Sam back, smiling.
"I swear I don't give her energy drinks for breakfast."
Sam laughed at Santana's answer and turned to look at Toni who was still cartwheeling her way around the front yard. "You sure about that? She seems really hyper right now…"
"She's excited," Santana sighed, taking her time about walking to the boxes. "It makes me feel bad, I didn't know just how much she hated the other place. " She smirked then, poking Sam's side. "She is REALLY excited about you being her Daddy Sam. And no, I absolutely in no way said to her that this was the case."
"I can see that, just like I'm excited to have you both around." Oddly, hearing that Toni wanted him to be her daddy, didn't really scare Sam at all. It was comforting to know that Toni liked him enough to want him to be her daddy. "I know you didn't and I'm okay with her wanting me to be her daddy." He smiled, kissing Tana on the cheek, "Maybe someday, I'll be lucky enough to marry her mommy." He said those words without any hesitation before picking up one of the boxes and walking towards the house.
"I'm excited too," Santana admitted.
She went quiet as Sam mentioned being Toni's father, marrying her. For a moment she imagined this, and it wasn't too scary of a thought. Which is sort of scary right there. She followed Sam, starting to carry boxes, and eventually a breathless Antonia started to help. She carried in the boxes that Santana handed her that were lightest, keeping up a running chatter.
"What color is my room Daddy Sammy? Is it pretty? Can I put my toys in it? I don't gotta share with Stevie do I?"
Sam chuckled at Toni, placed the box down and carried the little girl. "The color of your room is white, but we can paint it if you want. I think it's pretty and of course you get to put your toys in it. Let's go take a look at it and you can be the judge, okay?" He started walking towards the room next to Stevie's. "No, you don't have to share with Stevie, but your room are next to each other's so you will have to play nice. Do you think you could do that?"
"Ooooooh I wanna paint it PURPLE!" Antonia gave a little hop, dropping her box in the process. Luckily it was just clothes so nothing was broken. "Purple with GLITTER!"
As Sam picked her up, she wound her arm easily around his neck, giving a nod. "Uh huh I'm super nice. Really nice."
"Mija, I don't know if purple glitter paint exists," Santana laughed, shaking her head as she followed the two towards Antonia's room. She snorted at Antonia's promise to be nice to Stevie but didn't comment, praying she meant it past the next five seconds.
Once they entered Antonia's room, the little girl's eyes grew huge, and she wiggled excitedly in Sam's arms.
"It's BIG! Mami, look, it's BIG!"
She was utterly astonished by this, never having had a house where she had so much space. Then another thought seemed to hit her as she bit her lip, turning to regard the adults.
"What if bigger monsters like the bigger room better?"
"Purple is doable." Sam nodded, laughing at the idea of having a purple, glitter filled room. Thankfully, they don't make glitter paint or he would be covered with glitter at the end of that project. "This is your room." He opened the door, smiling at her excited response. His gaze shifted towards Santana. "Looks like she really loves the room."
Toni's question quickly caught his attention, he shook his head and said, "Nah, they like tiny rooms. Besides, I already did an inspection before you came, there's no monsters in this room."
Santana smiled, loving seeing her daughter's excitement, but loving even more how sweet she looked with her arm still wound around Sam's neck, her head leaned against his. She looked so comfortable and trusting with him, and it almost made her catch her breath to see it.
Antonia considered what Sam said carefully, then wiggled for him to put down. Grabbing his hand, she dragged him with her, hesitating, then with a burst or bravado looked under the bed, still holding his hand. "Okay, good," she said with relief. "I don't see none."
At Toni's urging, he put her down and did a walk through around the room with her. He could tell that she was scared, even if she didn't voice it out and hoped that the walk through would help to ease her worries. It seemed to have work. "See, I told you there's no monsters here." He told her, smiling sweetly. "Now are you ready to put your things in your brand new room? I'll even help you."
Still holding his hand, Antonia nodded, with just one more question. "They aren't visible?" She means "invisible." Santana couldn't hold back her smile as she reached for Sam's hand and squeezed it, subtly tracing a heart on the back.
Sam didn't quite understand what Toni was talking about. After thinking it through, he finally got it. "No, they're not invisible." He chuckled, looking back at Santana and mouthing the words, "I love you." Then, he led Toni back out to grab some of her stuff before they went back into her room. "Let's start unpacking these boxes, shall we?"
Santana's grin grew wider, and she watched as Toni stayed right at Sam's heels, chattering a mile a minute as she skipped along after him. She wasn't doing so much helping as talking at Sam while he helped, but Santana left her alone for the moment. Going to find Stevie, she went up to him and gave him a gentle smile, knowing that having been left alone, the little boy was probably feeling left out.
"Hey there. I'm really, really glad we get to stay here. It's so nice of you and your brother to let us, and Toni and I really appreciate it. I'm happy I'll get to know you better now." She moved forward and pulled him into her arms in a hug.
Stevie was playing Angry Birds on his Ipad when Santana walked in. He sat up a little and was surprisingly shocked when she hugged him. "I guess…" He simply stated, pretending as if the hug didn't melt his heartstrings.
Sam got busy with unpacking, and listened to Toni's plans for the room. Her chatter made him smile. It had always been just him and Stevie and they were both not very talkative by nature, so it was nice to have Santana and Toni around. They were going to be a great addition to the household, he just knew that they would.
In Stevie's room, Santana smiled at him, sitting next to him and keeping an arm loosely around him. "I don't know how to play too many video games, Toni isn't interested. Maybe you can teach me how?"
Stevie on the other hand, was enjoying all the female attention he was getting. He liked that Santana was affectionate, and she seemed like she was interested in getting to know him too. "It's easy. I can teach you later. Sammy just bought me a new video game you wanna try it with me?" He looked at Santana, eyes wide, hoping that she would say yes.
Santana smiled at Stevie's hopeful look, nodding and giving him another little squeeze around his shoulders before she dropped her arm. "Sure. I bet I'll totally kick your butt, since you don't know how to play it yet either. Let's see."
Stevie gasped and raised is brows. "You are so not going to win. I'm really good at video games and it only takes me 5 minutes to learn the controls. I'm going to make you eat my dust!" He chuckled. Stevie never used those words before, but he has heard it from TV and thought it was funny
"Eat your dust, huh? That sounds pretty nasty. Almost as bad as shorts," Santana chuckled. She settled next to Stevie and started to play, catching on pretty quickly and getting intently into the game in no time. "Oh you are so going down!"
"Yeah, I've heard it on TV, and I thought it was funny. Don't tell Sammy though. He might get mad." Stevie got up and set up the video game, before long they were into the game and forgetting about the world. He was really impressed by Santana's skills. She did really well, any better, she would be kicking his butt. "Oh no I'm not. You're going down!"
Santana laughed, her thumbs working madly as she kept her attention glued to the screen, trying her best to take Sam down. She bumped the little boy's shoulder with hers playfully.
Stevie's brows were knitted tightly as he concentrated on the video game. He wanted to win so bad. No way, he was going to let a girl beat him. That was not going to happen. When he felt her bumping his shoulder, she bumped hers back. "Hey, no cheating… That's okay, cheaters always lose. That's what Sammy says, so you're going down!" He giggled.
Santana grinned, knowing she wasn't about to win, and not above cheating. She bumped Stevie again, then slyly dropped one hand off her controller to reach out and start tickling him. "Oh, are you good enough to win now? Are you?"
Stevie giggled and tried to wiggle away from Santana. "Hey! No tickling! That's cheating." He laughed, trying to get away, but not making a huge effort in doing so because he really was enjoying the attention he was getting.
"Nope, not cheating, just testing your skills," Santana laughed, continuing to dig her fingers up Stevie's ribs and under his arms. She finally let him go, ruffling his hair playfully as she took up her controller again.
"You are too cheating!" Stevie giggled, before long Santana stopped and when she grabbed her controller, he did the same. "Now, I'm going to smoke you!" He chuckled, once again concentrating on the game.
Santana played Stevie for a few more games, and when he won, she shook her head good naturedly. "Okay fine, I got smoked." Setting her controller down, she smiled over at him, then on impulse, pulled him into her lap, her arms loosely around his waist.
"And my piggy will go there. And my unicorn will go there. And my dolls will go there, and my teddy will go there, and my owl has to sit next to my giraffe 'cause they're best friends, and my horse can't sit next to my dragon 'cause they don't like each other," Toni chattered on, animatedly describing to Sam every detail of her stuffed animal's preferred placements and apparent relationships. "Plus also, my kitty has to be with my other kitty 'cause they are married."
She beamed up at Sam, suddenly hugging him around the legs. "I'm so so happy you are gonna marry my mami and be my daddy. 'Cause that's the rule when grown ups live together, right?"
Sam nodded, listening to Toni go on and on about where she was going to put all her stuffed toys. It was cute, and he swore he could get used to this. Which was the exact reason why he didn't freak out when she asked him about his plans to marry Santana. Picking her up, he looked at her and said, "Yup, I'm going to marry your mommy, but you have to promise not to tell her, okay? I want it to be a surprise. Can you do that for me, Toni?"
Antonia grinned, her dimples showing clearly in her cheeks as she nodded her head enthusiastically. She wrapped her arms back around Sam's neck and hugged him, her feet kicking slightly at his hips with excitement.
"Yeah! Yeah I am a super good secret keeper!"
Not really. But she intended to try her hardest.
"Thank you." Sam hugged Toni, a smile that could light up the whole room lighting up his face. He wasn't planning on proposing anytime soon, but knowing that he had Toni's support meant the world to him.
Toni hugged Sam back, grinning back at him. Still settled on his hip, she said mischievously, "Wanna know secrets about my mami? Really good ones?"
"Secrets? I love secrets. You better tell me some good ones." Sam put his ear next to her lips and smiled.
"I know lotsa secrets. Really good ones." Antonia leaned close to Sam's ear. She's incapable of whispering, so she basically says in a loud effort at doing so, "My mami cries at The Lion King. She says she just got dust in her eye but she gets it EVERY TIME. And she still gots a bear she had when she was little but she pretends it's mine. It's not though. It's called Oso and she won't even let me touch it."
She paused, looking to see Sam's reaction, and then continued, "And she's super scared of ladybugs. She screams if they get in the house. She said 'cause the dots look like eyes. I think they're cute though. She wouldn't even let me get a stuffed ladybug."
Toni had Sam laughing with all the little secrets she was telling him about Santana. "I am so going to use that on your mommy. Maybe I should give her a ladybug stuffed toy so she can keep Oso company. What do you think? She'll probably get mad huh?"
Antonia giggled, nodding enthusiastically. "Yes! Yes Oso needs a friend! A best friend! Let's get Mami's Oso his new bestest friend, Lady the Ladybug!" She dissolved into giggles, hiding her face against Sam's shoulder.
"I thought you'd agree. Oso definitely needs a friend. I think that you and I should go shopping for Ladybug. But we gotta keep mommy out of the loop. She can't know." Sam kissed the little girl's head when she hid her face.
"I won't tell," Antonia promised. She wound her fingers around Sam's collar, her head resting on his shoulder. After her long period of hyperactivity this morning, she was getting a little tired, and she slipped her thumb into her mouth. She smiled when Sam kissed her, speaking around her thumb; when she's not around Stevie, she still feels secure enough to do this. "I love you Daddy Sammy."
"Thank you." Sam said, kissing Toni on the forehead again. Judging by her actions, he could tell that she was getting sleepy, so he walked over to the bed and sat down, before gently releasing her and tucking her onto the bed. Her words had his heart melting. "I love you too, Toni." He told her, swiping her hair back and then gently placing a kiss on her forehead.
Thumb still in her mouth, Antonia curled up in bed, her eyes drifting shut. She dozed off into a nap, her little face relaxing as she gave in to sleep.
Trying not to disturb Toni's slumber, Sam left the room as soon as her eyes drifted shut. He made sure to close the door quietly and went to look for Santana. He found her with Stevie. She had Stevie on her lap, the sight melting his heart. He kept his distance, letting the two bond a little longer.
"Ha! I told you I was going to smoke you." Stevie announced proudly, letting Santana pull him onto her lap. "That was fun. You should play video games with me more often, but Toni can't join. She'll probably get mad if she don't win…" He sighed loudly and rest his head on her chest. "So…are you going to marry Sammy? I like you, you know. I can see you being Sammy's wife."
"Yep, you're a talented boy," Santana agreed, smoothing her hand through Stevie's hair. She laughed at his declaration that Toni can't join, ruffling his hair again. "Now, that doesn't seem very fair to tell her she can't play, does it? How about we compromise. If Toni wants to play, Sam or I will play with her, because we can handle it if she gets upset. I would love to play with you again, Stevie."
She took his question seriously, her brow furrowing as she thought. Absently her hand ran through Stevie's hair again as she replied.
"I don't know, Stevie. I like you too…and I really like your brother. It might happen one day."
Sam's brows rose. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Stevie was putting Santana on the spot just like Toni had done to him. He had to do something before his girlfriend freaked out and think that this is part of his scheme to get her to marry him or something.
Sam cleared his throat unnecessarily loudly and joined the two. "Hey, I thought you were going to unpack? Whatever happened to that? I see that video games takes priority." He laughed, mostly because he was nervous.
Stevie didn't like that he wasn't given a chance to respond. He had a lot to say about the matter, but Sammy hadn't given him the chance. "We'll talk later…" He smiled at Santana and then looked at his brother, "I was teaching Santana how to play video games. She's good, but not as good as I am." He shrugged.
Santana looked up at him, giving him a quick but somewhat awkward smile. "He did sorta kick my butt." Wondering if Sam heard, and what he was thinking, she lifted Stevie off of her and instead took his hand. "How about you help me unpack? But first I need someone to give me a grand tour of this place." She looked back at Stevie, eyebrows raised. "Toni is way too quiet for my comfort at the moment."
"He's a genius at video games, I wouldn't dare play with him." Sam smirked.
"I won Sammy. I was sooo good at it." Stevie announced proudly. He got up from his seat and offered his hand. "I'll give you a tour. Come one Tana!"
Sam looked on, chuckling. "Don't worry about Toni, she's fast asleep. She got tired after telling me all about her stuffed animals. You two go ahead and tour the house, I'm going to bring in the rest of the boxes."
"Oh, one day I'll beat him. You watch, I'm gonna take him down," Santana vowed, smirking. Taking Stevie's hand, she let him lead her through the house, genuinely interested in how he would describe everything. She doubts he'll be as chatty and long winded in his explanations as Toni would be.
Meanwhile, Toni has aroused from her catnap and is sitting up in bed, her face puckered up with utter bemusement, as she's forgotten where she is and how she got there. Shuffling out of bed and into the hallway, she stands, confused and rubbing her eyes, half pouting, her hair tousled. When Sam re-enters the hallway with another load, she attaches to his leg, practically tripping him, and says with still half shut eyes, "I don't know that bed. How come I got putted in a bed all alone?"
"No, you're not. I'm too good to beat." Stevie giggled and started the tour in the kitchen. "Here's the kitchen. Sammy cooks here. He hides my snacks up in the cabinet over there." He pointed at the cabinet next to the fridge. "He thinks I don't know he hides it there. Sometimes when he's in his room, I use the chair to climb up and get a cookie."
Sam went to grab a couple of boxes and set them down in the appropriate rooms. After a few rounds, he was back inside Toni's room with a few of her items. He smiled when he saw that she was wide awake and was now hanging onto his leg. He picked her up and settled her on his arm. "That's your new bed. You have your own room, remember? Your mommy didn't bring your other bed, so you're getting this one."
"Oh do you? Is that super safe, standing on a chair? I hope you don't balance on one leg like a flamingo," Santana teased Stevie. She looked at him closely, giving an exaggerated frown. "Whoa is that pink feathers I see?!"
From Sam's circle of arms, Antonia pouted at him, one hand on her hip. "This is not neither my bed. I want my bed. My bed is pretty and it's got my animals in it. I don't wanna sleep all by myself in a bed I don't know. It makes my alonely." That is her combination of alone and lonely.
"It is super safe. I've never fallen. Not once!" Stevie announce proudly. "I'm a tall boy. I don't need to balance like a flamingo." And then he was rolling his eyes at her joke, pretending to act as if he wasn't amuse. He walked ahead and went to the dining area. "So this is the dining table. We eat here and I do some of my homework here too."
Sam frowned, feeling really bad for Toni. "I'm sorry, Toni, but this is a nice bed too and you can put all your animals on it too. We can even put your favorite stickers on it. How would you like that? Wouldn't that be cool? I promise that you won't feel alone on this bed. It's a really nice and comfy bed."
"Hmmmmm," Santana said skeptically, thinking of her own child and how clumsy Antonia could be. "I think you probably look like at least a parakeet." She smirked, ruffling his hair again as she followed. "So what I want to know is, are there any awesome secret hideouts?"
Antonia considered this. She hadn't been allowed to put stickers on her bed at her old home. She finally nodded reluctantly. "Okay. I like this house a lot but it's big. I think I'm gonna get lost. I think we need to get all my animals out right now 'cause animals can find the way best. And I think we should tell them not to be scared in a new house 'cause I will protect them."
"I do not…" Stevie shook his head and a smirk came to him when Santana asked him about secret hideouts. "Oh yeah, I have one in my room and even one in Sammy's room. Oh and then there's the tree house. That's my favorite. You wanna see it?!"
Sam was relieved that Toni had agreed. "We can do that." He chuckled a little at her words, knowing full well that the animals were the one who would be doing the protecting. "You shouldn't be scared though. This house might be big, but it's a really nice house. It won't harm you at all."
Santana laughed again at Stevie's enthusiasm; it hasn't been very often that she's seen him look so pleased when she is around. She nodded, genuinely interested in what he has to show her. "Of course. I want to see, sounds like you have an awesome house."
"I am not scared!" Antonia proclaimed, indignant, as she gave Sam a scowl. "My animals are. I gotta protect them."
She dug through several boxes that Sam had brought in, finding two that were of stuffed animals, and started to arrange them carefully in a circle on the floor. Dragging Sam by the wrist, she pulled him down to the floor, then positioned herself in his lap as she explained.
"They gotta all see me and hear me. And I gotta sit in your lap so I'm up tall and they can see and hear me even better when I say we are safe in this big new scary house."
"Uh huh." Toni lay her head under Sam's chin, cuddling against his chest, and then pulled back a little, looking up at him. "Do you think I didn't get a daddy and you didn't get a little girl 'cause we had to meet first?"
"I do. I have the best house in the world." Stevie said proudly. He pulled Santana out to the yard and point up at the tree that stood at the side of the house. "That's my tree house. It's where I sit to think and play my games sometime. Can Toni not come in it? I don't want to share it with her. She'll just ruin it for me."
Santana let Stevie show her, making admiring noises. "Oh I would totally play in that if I was younger. Better watch it, I might just do it anyway." She paused, considering his question about Toni. "Well, Stevie…how about this. I really, really would love it a lot if you would try to get along with Toni. I know that she can be annoying sometimes, but she's younger than you, and it's been hard for her in her life too, just like it's been hard for you. So if you want this special space just for you, what I would like you to do is help Toni find her own special place. Does that sound fair?"
Stevie listened in, some parts of him wanted to retort, but then he thought better of it. "Okay, I'll help her find a secret place. Maybe there's one in her room or we could ask Sammy to make her a play house in the yard? I think she would like that. Don't girls like stuff like that?" He tilted his head to look up at Santana.
"I think that sounds like a great idea," Santana told Stevie with a warm smile. "That would be very nice of you and I think she would like it a lot. It would be her special place." She slid an arm around Stevie's shoulders again as she continued to walk with him.
Stevie felt proud that he had suggested building a play house for Toni. He still found her annoying, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings so much. This was going to be her home too and even if he didn't like the idea of having her living here with them, he did like having Santana around. "Thank you. We'll go ask Sammy to make her one. I think everyone should have a special place."
"I think you're right," Santana smiled at him, taking hold of his hand. "Should we go find Sam now and tell him?" She paused, then said seriously, "I want you to know, Stevie, if you ever need special time with just you and Stevie, like I have my special time with Toni, just let us know. I'll make sure you get some time."
"We should tell him. He's going to be really happy that I suggest this idea. He wants me to be nice to Toni and I'm trying to be…" Stevie smiled, proud of the fact that he was trying to do what Sammy asked of him. "I know. I'll tell you if I need Sammy and me time."
Hearing that Santana was proud of him, made Stevie smile. He liked that feeling and wanted it to stay. "I will tell you. Sammy and I will have our time together." He told her, giving her a toothy smile before they walked back to the house. "Sammy! Where are you?" He called as they walked in.
Sam chuckled, "Oh sorry, I just too excited." He moved his arms, so that they weren't imprisoning Toni's, "There, this is much better." He nodded, "I always want to make your mommy happy and now I want you to to be happy too. Daddy man huh? Well, I guess she got her wish…"
Sam's brows lifted, and he said in a calm voice, "I know you're not. I was just saying that in general." He back paddled, then watched as she lined the animals up. Following her instructions, he sat her on his lap, "Okay, I think you can start now." He found this whole thing amusing and cute, but didn't dare laugh for fear that it might draw a negative reaction out of Toni.
Snuggling back into Sam's chest, Antonia moves Sam's arms so they are around her. Feeling more secure like this, she addresses her toys. "Guess what. Daddy Sammy says this place is safe and he lives here so I guess he knows. I will protect you and I will even fight the scary things for you. Maybe. Except Dolly Dragon, she can fight them herself I think."
Sam's heart melted, a smile etched on his face as he listened to Toni calling him Daddy Sammy. He wanted to squeeze her tightly and kiss her all over, but he let her speak to her animals and didn't interrupt.
"I think they all need hugs," Toni decided. "So they can know for sure they're okay." Still in Sam's arms, on his lap, she leans forward, straining to pick up each and every animal individually to hug them,even though that meant she was constantly squirming and twisting around to accomplish it. "All better."
"You think so? I think you're right." Sam smiled and watched as Toni gave each of them a hug. Then when she was done, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed a little, giving her a warm hug. "I need a hug too…" He chuckled. "I'm glad you are here, Toni. You and your mommy is making me very happy."
Antonia looked up at Sam with a smile, cuddling back into him. "I can't hug you back when you gots your arms over my arms!" She wiggled around again so she was still sitting on his lap, but facing him, and hugged him back. "You make me happy too. Plus my mami. She smiles a lot. I think she wanted a daddy man too."
"Maybe. You could be right about that. I don't know for sure. But I do know that I like having you as my first little girl." Sam kissed the top of Toni's head. Then he heard Stevie calling out for him and shouted back, "I'm in Toni's room."
Stevie heard his brother's voice and let go of Santana's hand in a hurry to run to the bedroom that was going to be for Toni. "Sammy! Sammy!" He said excitedly as he tugged on his brother's pant leg. "I think that you should make a play house for Toni. That way I don't gotta share my tree house with her."
Santana followed Stevie, chuckling. As Stevie burst into her room, Toni scowled, thinking that he was going to push her off of Sam or else try to make her mad. But when he started talking about building a playhouse, she broke into a smile, tugging at Sam's arm too.
"Yeah! Play house play house play house! I wanna get a play house!"
Sam was a bit taken aback by Stevie's suggestion. He was still proud though. His little brother hadn't even mad a fuss about him holding Toni and now, she was suggesting that they build a play house for Toni. This was indeed the step in the right direction. "Well, I guess you got your answer. We're building a playhouse!" Then he looked at Santana, silently asking if she had a hand in all of this.
"Yayyyyyy! Yayyyyyy playhouse!" Antonia clapped excitedly, bouncing up and down in Sam's lap. "Mami this house is AWESOME!"
Laughing at her daughter's reaction, Santana met Sam's eyes, even as she spoke to her. "Looks like you should thank Stevie for his good idea."
"THANK YOU STEVIE FOR YOUR GOOD IDEA!" Antonia half bellowed, giving another bounce, and Santana looked at Sam innocently, as though it wasn't her idea at all, but she's smiling.
Stevie wasn't really looking for recognition, all he truly wanted was for his brother to know that he was listening to his advice and trying to be nice to Toni.
Sam was so proud of Stevie. He wasn't too sure how things were going to work out with Stevie and Toni, but it looks like things were looking up after all. "Thank you, Stevie. I'm so proud of you, buddy." He ruffled his brother's hair as he tried to balance a bouncing Toni in his arms.
"So, I think that we should finish unpacking and then later, we can go out to get supplies to build Toni's play house and have dinner. What do you say?" He suggested.
"Oooh… Can we have pizza? I love pizza…" Stevie asked, looking at his brother with wide eyes.
"PIZZA PIZZA!" Antonia was still pretty much shouting everything, still bouncing. Shaking her head at her, Santana came forward, lifting her out of Sam's lap and setting her on the floor, taking her gently by the shoulders in an effort to steady and calm her.
"You're gonna make us all need to hold our ears, mija." Looking up at Sam, she nodded agreement. "Sounds like exactly what we should do. Anchovies and pickles for toppings?" She was teasing, but Antonia fell for it as always.
"Nooooooo so gross Mami!"
Laughing, Santana ruffled her hair. "Pepperoni it is." As she watched the children cheer excitedly and smiled across them to Sam, she felt that she truly was home.