Santana's weekend with Sam had been exactly what they both needed. Despite their initial bickering, Santana's lack of prowess in the woods, and the misunderstandings back and forth at the start, she had thoroughly enjoyed herself once they worked through it, and she had come to feel even closer to Sam. Spending time with him without an agenda or without any needed tasks or responsibilities, without the distraction of small children and their needs, Santana had found herself falling even more deeply in love with him and the gentle, loving person that he truly was. She knew, even without him telling her, that he loved her, that he genuinely thought she was an amazing person, a beautiful, intelligent, and charming woman, a loving and dedicated mother. Santana didn't exactly have a low opinion of herself, but it was something else entirely to hear Sam tell her so with such sincerity, and it deeply touched her heart.
Still, all good things had to come to an end, and as she and Sam drove to pick up the children from their respective weekend destinations, she was looking forward to seeing them both and hearing about what they had been doing as well. She and Sam picked up Stevie first, and after Santana hugged and kissed him hello, thanking Sam's uncle for watching him, she listened to his description of his weekend and smiled in the rearview mirror back at him, glad he had had a good time. She had a feeling that her reunion with Antonia would be considerably more dramatic, which was why she had put her off for last.
She wasn't off in her suspicion. As she, Stevie, and Sam went to her mother's front door and knocked, waiting for Maribel Lopez to answer, Santana smiled to herself, certain that her daughter was going to be wildly excited to see her. Maribel managed by some miracle to get to the door first. She was a small woman, shorter and nearly as slim as Santana in build, and she still had long hair and youthful skin, nearly as attractive in appearance as her daughter. She smiled warmly when she looked at Santana, pulling her into a hug and kissing her cheek, before holding her back at arms' length to look her over.
"Oh, yes, I can see you are indeed well rested, mija, or perhaps it was not so much rest as another more physical activity you were partaking in that has you look so well," she smirked at her, even as Santana flushed slightly, throwing back a glance at Stevie to make sure he didn't understand the implication.
"Mami, please, I knows you have a weird thing about me and my "physical" life, but it's gross and wrong for moms to even want to think about that, so, can we not?"
"What are you talking about, mija?" Maribel said with mock innocence, blinking. "What could be wrong with talking about hiking and swimming? Surely you did much of this in the woods?"
Santana rolled her eyes at her, exchanging a look with Sam, as she announced to him, "That's my mami for you. If you think I'm bad, spend a day with her and you'll see how easy you get off."
"I wouldn't be opposed to that, handsome as this young man is," Maribel smiled in Sam's direction, holding her hand out for Sam to shake. "My daughter, so rude, brings people to my doorstep and does not say one word of introduction. I am Maribel Lopez, but none of that Ms. Lopez stuff, I am not yet old. You can call me Maribel or Mari…and who is this good looking little fellow?"
She bent towards Stevie, giving him a warm smile, and held out her hand for him to shake too. "I have heard much about the lovely little boy that Santana is so happy to live with. I am so happy to meet you too."
"MAMIIIIII DADDY SAMMYYYY MAMIIIII YOU ARE HOME YOU ARE HOME YOU ARE HOME!" came a screech from three rooms away, and then the sound of tiny pounding feet as Antonia raced through the house, barely registering when she banged her shin on the coffee table. With another excited whoop, she threw herself bodily at Santana, barely seeming to notice she practically shoved Maribel out of the way to get to her, and wrapped her arms around her hips, clinging to her tightly. "Mamiiiiiiii! I missed you so much, I didn't think you were never never never gonna come get me!"
"Oh, you do not like being with your abuela then, is that it?" Maribel laughed, shaking her head as Santana picked Antonia up onto her hip, giving her a hug and kiss.
"No, I do, 'buela, but I like being with my mami and daddy Sammy best," Antonia announced. Still wiggling on Santana's hip, she reached out for Sam too, wanting him to take her next. "We had fun, and we made as super awesome surprise plan only I can't even tell you because it's a surprise!"
The weekend had gone very well much to Sam's surprise. He had been anticipating something to go wrong with the kids. One of them to call and pretend to be sick or be sick for real and they'd have to leave their little haven to pick them up and nurse them back to health. However, none of those things had gone down. The kids hadn't bothered them at all and because of this, they were able to connect.
They talked, did some outdoors activities, Sam made sure that it was nothing too out there, not wanting the incident with the skunk or God forbid something much worse, to happen again. They took baths, kissed and simply enjoyed being young and in love. He'd fallen even deeper in love with Santana this weekend. Yes, he was sprayed by a skunk, but those things didn't matter. What mattered was being able to connect with his girlfriend, and thought that he had managed to do that in the past two days.
As much as he loved the kids, they truly needed this time to simply bond, without any distractions, which they got to do. But now, the fun was over. They had to go back to real life and responsibilities. He had to admit that he really missed Stevie. The little guy was his whole world, how could he not?
Stevie jumped into his brother's arm and gave him a big ole hug once Sam got to the door. "Sammy! I've missed you."
Sam's smile was a mile wide. He hugged his brother closely, spinning him around a few times. "I've missed you too, buddy. Have you been a good boy this weekend?"
Stevie nodded eagerly, "I have! I even helped to make pancakes this morning. It was really yummy, Sammy."
Sam's heart melted. The grin on his brother's face always made him smile. He was happy that Stevie was happy. This was what his parents wanted, for them both to be happy. "Is that so? Well then, I will just have to make sure that you make me some one of these days…."
"I'll do it. But you gotta help me though. It's not safe for a child to be on the stove alone. Safety always comes first, right uncle Jared?" Stevie asked, a proud smile was etched on his face.
The uncle nodded, telling the little boy to remember that. He then ruffled Stevie's hair, said his goodbyes and went back into the house once Sam and Stevie were back in the car.
They got caught up in the car. Sam wanted to know everything that Stevie did with their uncle this weekend and so did Stevie. His little brother had so many different questions for him and Santana. He told him the truth…for the most parts. Leaving out the sexual parts of the trip, of course. That was how the rest of the ride went.
Back at Santana's mother's home, he was left speechless at the banter between the two women. He looked at Stevie who was looking around the house with wonder in his eyes and ruffled his hair, letting the two women talk. When Maribel introduced herself, he smiled, taking her hand and shaking it, while he returned the introduction. "Hello, Maribel. It's very nice to meet you. I've heard so many good things about you."
"I'm Stevie," Stevie answered, proudly. He shook the older woman's hand and continued to say, "I like your house. It's very nice. I like you too. You look a lot like Santana. Do you bake cookies? I like cookies…"
Sam who was now, hugging Santana with one arm, ruffled his brother's hair yet again, "You have to excuse my little brother, Maribel. He's got a sweet tooth on him."
"I don't understand what's so sweet about my tooth." Stevie shrugged his shoulders and frowned. Being 5, he didn't quite understand the saying.
"It means that you like sweet things, Stevie." Sam shook his head, getting out of the way at just the right time when Toni came in and jump right up into Santana's arms. "There's my girl, and how was your weekend, little lady? I bet you had lot of fun."
He picked her up when she gestured for it and kissed her on the cheek. "So what's this surprise you are talking about?"
"Oooh, does it have cookies?!" Stevie piped in with a grin, his stomach already rumbling for something sweet.
"Good things? About me? What a surprise, I did not know this daughter of mine could mention my name without insults being attached to it," Maribel feigned surprise, smiling back at Sam after shooting a smirk towards Santana. She laughed in response to Stevie, giving him a wide smile as she patted his shoulder. "Oh yes, carina, I certainly do bake cookies. Antonita and I baked them last night, would you like to come in and have some?" To Sam and Santana she added, "I can make you some coffee, if you would like."
"I had a lot of fun but I'm gonna have even more, much funner fun now!" Antonia announced, wrapping her arms around Sam's neck. "It's a super awesome surprise. It's gonna be so cool and I'm gonna be so pretty. 'Cause I get to be a super pretty b-"
"Shhh, ninita, it's a surprise, remember?" Maribel put her fingers against Antonia's lips, silencing her. "Shhh."
"Oh, yeah," Antonia remembered, covering her mouth. "I rememberered!"
"Ooh, cookie!" Stevie's eyes lit up, his smile was so bright. He almost clapped in excitement, but that would make him foolish, so he didn't. "Thank you. I would like some." He answered politely.
"I'll have some cookies if Toni would let me." Sam's answer was simple, since he knew that Toni liked having his attention. He felt lucky that Stevie was currently too busy worrying about getting those cookies in his stomach. Normally, he would get jealous when Sam showed too much attention to Toni. "And yes, she did say good things about you. Only good thing." He looked at Santana lovingly before going back to his conversation with Toni. "Oh I bet it's going to be awesome. I can't wait to see what this surprise it."
Stevie, who really wasn't paying attention to the Toni, tugged on Santana's hand and asked, "Would you like some cookies too, Tana? You can come sit next to me and we can eat cookies together, okay…"
"You are very welcome, ninito." Maribel laughed, patting Stevie again as she turned to open the door for them to come through. "What a surprise, my child must be getting soft in her old age." She smirked again at Santana, who stuck her tongue out at her like a child herself while letting Stevie take her hand.
"Of course I will. I like the sound of that, buddy."
"I'll let you," Toni said grandly to Sam, a s though she were doing him a tremendous favor. "But I wanna sit with you. And it's gonna be a super awesome super pretty good good good surprise!"
Usually, she too would be jealous of Stevie sitting with her mother, but she's preoccupied with her excitement over her surprise, the adults' return, and Sam giving her attention.
Stevie lit up, he liked when Santana would sit with him. Not that Sammy never did, but it was different when Santana did. She always took the time to talk to him. She genuinely wanted to get to know him unlike a lot of other adults. "Okay." He nodded.
Sam looked back at his brother gauging his reaction, but the little guy was too busy talking to Santana and holding her hand, so he suspected that he was not going to be too bothered, if at all, when he sat with Toni. "I'll sit with you, Toni. But you gotta let me in on your surprise. I want to know what it is." He was curious and anxious now, and he really, really wanted to know.
As Maribel ushered them into the kitchen, beginning to get out the tin of cookies and setting them on a tray, retrieving napkins and plates as well, Santana sat with Stevie, still holding his hand. "Tell me what kind of cookies you like best. Do you like to dip them in milk, or do you like to make sandwiches out of them with peanut butter or icing? Toni likes to take Oreos, scrape out the cream, and then give me the cookie part. How do you eat them?"
"I wanna tell you but 'Buela said I gotta wait," Antonia told him. Sitting in his lap at the table, she squirmed, looking frequently at her grandmother. "Can't I do it now, 'Buela? Please please please?"
Maribel gave a rather suspicious smile then, giving her a nod. "Sure, mi corazon. Go get ready."
"Yayyyyy!" Antonia jumped off Sam's lap and darted out of the room.
Stevie let Santana lead them both to the kitchen, he sat down next to her, his hand still clasp with hers. He felt safe like this, felt like he was special and loved. Sammy did that, he made him feel loved and safe, but it was different getting it from someone else. "I like all kinds of cookies. My favorite is chocolate chip and sometimes, I like to dip em with hot chocolate. Sammy makes them for me if I'm being extra good and put marshmallow in them. Lately, I haven't asked for hot chocolate. Maybe I will when we get home. Did I tell you that I made pancakes today? It was big and so delicious. Uncle Jared said I did a great job."
Sam on the other hand had Toni sitting on his lap. She was asking for permission to tell him about this surprise, and he had to admit that he was really looking forward to hearing it. "Okay, since you got the permission, you can tell me now." He told her as she cheered happily.
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Santana nodded her approval, giving Stevie a warm smile. "Hot chocolate. Maybe my mami will make us some."
"Sure, sweetheart," Maribel smiled at Stevie. "It sounds like you have been extra good at your uncle's house, so that does deserve some hot chocolate."
She went to get it ready, while Santana lifted her head in dawning suspicion towards the direction her daughter disappeared in. Narrowing her eyes at her mother, she asked, "Mami, what exactly is this big surprise she's so hyped up about?"
"Oh, I wouldn't take away from letting her give the big reveal," Maribel couldn't make herself look innocent, despite her efforts. "Let her have her spotlight."
Just then, Antonia traipsed back into the kitchen, a white shawl clumsily wrapped around her head and hanging crookedly down her back. She was also wrapped up in a white sheet which trailed behind her, and she tried to hold it up in both hands, tripping frequently as she sang loudly, her voice high and squeaky. As much as Santana adored her daughter, she had to admit, she sounded like a chipmunk when she sang.
"Here comes the bride! Here comes the bride! Here come the bride…'Buela, I don't know the rest of the song, how does it go?"
Maribel wasn't even trying to stop her huge grin as she clapped for her granddaughter. "Sweetheart, just sing it how you think it should go, remember?"
"Oh okay…um….here comes the bride….mami and Daddy Sammy sitting in a tree, k-s-i-s-n-g-g! First comes love, then comes marriage, then I get to wear a super pretty flower girl dress, here comes the bride!"
Santana's eyes about popped, and her mouth dropped open as she stared, more than a little taken aback, at her daughter. This was definitely her mother's work. Antonia took this to be a compliment and beamed.
"Isn't this a super awesome surprise, Mami? It's for you!"
"I can have some now?" Stevie's eyes went wide. He was so used to just being around men, this new attention that he was getting from Maribel and Santana felt foreign and good. "Thank you…" He hugged the two women and then sat back down.
Sam on the other hand, was curiously waiting for Toni to come back. When she did, he couldn't stop laughing. She was practically covered in white and she was singing her own version of the wedding march. It didn't freak him out though because he knew that he would want to marry Santana someday. "So this is our surprise?" He asked with a hint of laughter. "That's a nice surprise, Toni. I think you surprised your mama speechless."
He looked back at Santana's face and busted out laughing. His girlfriend looked like she was frozen and her jaw was practically hanging down to the floor.
Santana would have found it funny that Stevie seemed oblivious to Antonia, hot chocolate that Maribel had just set down in front of him being his bigger priority. She continued to stare at her daughter, blinking rapidly, before turning to fix a glare at her mother that was almost homicidal in nature. Maribel just smiled back at her, repeating Antonia's question.
"What, mija? Don't you like your daughter's special surprise?"
When Sam laughed, Antonia's face fell, and she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest and stamping her foot. She tripped again and almost fell when she stamped, her lower lip sticking out as she looked between Sam and Santana in annoyance.
"You are laughing at me! It was a good surprise!"
"Um…I think Sam is laughing because he's so surprised," Santana said hurriedly, trying to head off a tantrum. "It was…definitely a surprise. You look…very pretty." To her mother, much more harshly, she said, "It would have been VERY NICE though if she could come up with a surprise ALL ON HER OWN WITHOUT ANY INTERFERENCE FROM PEOPLE WITH SMART HINDQUARTERS." Since she couldn't say ass without Antonia repeating it.
Stevie was busy enjoying his hot chocolate, not really paying much attention to what was going on in his surrounding. He only looked up when he heard his brother laughing. Her frowned, making a face when he saw Toni dressed almost like a ghost. He couldn't help himself, he tugged on Santana's hand and asked, "Why is Toni dressed like a ghost?" He could tell that she was getting mad, so he picked up a cookie and presented it to her, "I have a cookie. Would you like one?"
Sam stopped laughing seeing that Toni was about to throw a fit. He stood up and went to her, picking her up, then sitting down again so that she could sit on his lap. "I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at your mama. She looked like her jaw was going to hit the floor." He chuckled, "You look very beautiful though and I love the song that you sang. Can you sing it again?"
"Oh, Antonita thought it was a good idea," Maribel said back to Santana, still smirking. She leaned back against the counter, watching the drama unfold with obvious amusement.
"I am not a ghost!" Antonia exploded, stomping her foot again and glaring at Stevie. "I am a very very beautiful bride! Just like Mami is gonna be!"
Santana took the cookie from Stevie and thanked him, patting his head, and now she too was trying not to laugh. It was hard not to, even if she really didn't want to. Antonia looked so cute and so silly and was so peeved, and even if her mother was a nosy, meddling tease, it was sort of funny. Sort of.
Somewhat mollified, Antonia leaned back into Sam's chest, nodding eagerly. "Uh huh. Only I forgot the words again. I'll make up new ones. Here comes the bride! The bride is wearing a pretty white dress! She looks so pretty and she's sitting in a tree! And I don't know what the groom wears but he is pretty too! And he is my daddy Sammy and here comes the bride!" She beams up at him expectantly, waiting for his applause. "She is too a ghost. I don't know any bride that wear that to a wedding." Stevie whispered to himself, then went back to eating his cookies, not even paying attention to all the noise in the room.
Sam, trying to make amends with his little girl, sat and clenched his jaw, as he tried not to laugh at the lyrics. When she was done, he drowned out his snorts with the sounds of his loud clapping. "Bravo, Toni. You did very well. That song was…" He pinched his lips together for a moment to get himself together, "It was very unique." Then he kissed, her hair before another snort could escape.
Santana hurriedly stuffed her mouth with a cookie so a snort of laughter wouldn't escape. She stared down at her plate, not daring to even look at Antonia or Sam because she knew if she did, she would burst out into hysterical laughter.
Sitting up proudly in Sam's lap, Antonia continued to grin proudly, dimples showing in her cheek. Her "veil" slipped off entirely as she hugged Sam, then reached for a cookie for herself. "Thank you! That's me. I'm you-eek." She didn't have a clue what that meant, but she liked the sound of it.
Maribel being Maribel, she couldn't resist nosing in some more as she sat back down with the others. "Excellent job, mi nieta, you were such a wonderful surprise! Now Sam, I understand that you coach the children's t-ball, and you play baseball yourself as well. Tell me, how will this work when your season starts? Do you need to travel?"
Sam, somehow by some miracle was able to not laugh. Toni was so damn adorable with those lyrics that didn't even rhyme and to top that off, her costume was starting to fall apart. "That's right, that's you, Princess." He smirked, his lips twitching, trying as he tried not to bust out in laughter.
He looked up at Maribel a few seconds later, smiled politely and answered her question. "I haven't been scouted yet, but my agent is in talks with the New York Yankees, so we'll just have to see about the rest later. I'm not getting ahead of myself yet."
He wasn't trying to be rude at all, but he wanted the kids to know first if they had to move. He didn't want to scare Toni with such a big news quite yet.
"Ooh, I like that. I'm a princess. Princess Antonia Cristina Lopez! I'm fancy," Antonia gave a little bounce of pleasure, and the towel totally slipped off her head. Ignoring this, she reached for a second cookie. "Oooh you know what would be cool? A crown for me made of cookies. So I can eat it."
Santana couldn't help it. She burst out laughing and quickly had to turn it into a coughing fit. Maribel smirked at her, still focused on Sam. "That's very nice. I am sure you will do well and be sought after."
Stevie, who was engrossed by the cookies and hot chocolate earlier, looked up when he heard Toni talking about a crown cookie. "Ooh… Can I have one? But can I have one made to look like a car? I love cars…" Then, just like that, he lowered his head and went back to eating his cookies.
Sam nodded at Maribel and then focused on Toni, "You are a princess. You're my princess…" He smiled, hugging her close. "You can both get cookies. We'll make one in a shape of a crown for Toni and a car one for Stevie."
Stevie's head jerked up, his eyes wide as saucers and lips curled up into a smile. "Really? That's cool, Sammy! Thank you!" He briefly caught a glance of Toni in her disheveled state, and started chuckling, "Your wedding dress fell apart."
"You can't have a car cookie. That's just silly," Antonia informed him, her mouth full of cookie. "You couldn't even drive it. And you would break it with your hiney when you sit on it." She giggled, thinking of this. "Hiney cookie breaker!"
"Toni," Santana reproved her mildly, but she was smiling too. "Sam said he can make it, I think he just means a cookie shaped like a car. He's not making you a cookie that you can wear like a crown either, you know."
"Aw, really?" Antonia was disappointed by this, looking up at Sam. "Is she right? 'Cause you said I'm a princess."
When Stevie laughed at her, she scowled at him, putting her hands on her hips and sitting upright in Sam's lap. "It did not! That is the thing that goes on my head. I'm still wearing my dress." Sort of. The sheet was basically around her waist now, slipping off.
"I don't want a car that I can drive. I want one that I can eat. Who wants to drive a cookie anyway?" Stevie rolled his eyes. He didn't understand why Toni didn't get what he was talking about. Probably because she was a girl. Girls never understand things. "It is too…"
"Stevie, stop taunting her…" Sam said, shaking his head.
Stevie made a grumbling sound then focused on his cookies.
"I don't think I would be able to make a crown cookie that you can wear, Toni. Besides, you wouldn't want to put it on. It will only attract ants. Do you want ants to crawl in your head?"
"You do. Hiney breaker on the cookie," Antonia giggled again, as Santana gave her a look.
"Toni. Settle. No making fun. Or hiney talk while eating."
Antonia screwed up her face, wrinkling up her nose and shaking her head. "Ewwww I don't want nasty ants in my head! I don't want it no more."
"Some day soon, all of you will have to come for dinner," Maribel invited, distracting the children. "It will be a nice night as a family."
"Whatever…" Stevie mumbled, made a face at Toni and rolled his eyes.
Sam, giving up on the kids getting along, simply shook his head. He smiled up at Maribel and nodded, "That would be nice… I'm sure you're a great cook too."
"I'm finished!" Stevie announced once he had polished off his cookies and hot chocolate.
As Toni too finished eating, jumping off Sam's lap and losing the last of her costume in the process, Santana stood and helped her mother clear and clean. Then, giving her a hug of thanks and smiling as her mother whispered into her ear that Sam was a keeper, she took Stevie's hand in one of hers and Toni's in the other, loading them up into the car with Sam. Maribel was right about one thing; to Santana, they really did feel already like a family.