So still don't own glee, but still enjoy!

Three Weeks Later

Rachel arrived home to find Ms. Jenkins on the doormat her hand poised to knock. She parked the gold car and exited greeting the large-framed woman amicably. The two women entered the house and were greeted by a rambunctious 5-year-old bounding into Rachel's legs.

"Rae!" Mateo giggled, "Santi's bein' mean, get her!"

"How?" She bent down to be level with him ignoring the woman observing behind her.

"Her won't share."

"She. "

"Yea...yea...she won't share." He made puppy eyes at her and she melted a little.

"What won't that meanie Santana share?"

"Yeah explain to your audience what I won't share." Santana interrupted entering the foyer from the kitchen.

"Da cookies..." He mumbled.

"San, I understand a sweet tooth, but I'm sure there's enough to share...?"

"Her said..."

"She..." They both corrected automatically.

Mateo sighed . "She sa'd they wuz for you an' I couln't have none less you sa'd yes. So can I?"

"May I?"

"Huh?" Mateo queried with an arched brow, looking just like his older sister to Rachel and from the other end of the foyer, Santana was laughing silently.

"When you want things you say may I." She gently urged.

Mateo looked at all three of the adults in the room and sighed again. "Nevamin" He hurrumphed and stomped up to his bed room.

By that point Santana's silent laughter had risen in volume to fill the small space with Ms. Jenkins joining in. Rachel just stood and glanced from one woman to the other.

"It's good to see that you don't just frustrate me." Santana said between giggles.

"Lack of patience must be a Lopez trait." Rachel crossed her arms and the laughter just continued. "If you're quite done, I'm sure Ms. Jenkins didn't come all this way to laugh at my expense."

"Of course Rach." Santana smiled and Rachel found herself smiling back despite herself.

"Ms. Berry, Ms. Lopez. I will be doing a general observation watching how you interact, how the household functions and the like and then at the end of the night I would like to speak with each of you, including Mateo privately, ok? For now though, do proceed as if I were not watching and scribbling on my notepad." Ms. Jenkins genuinely smiled at them and pulled a yellow mini legal pad from her bag.

"Is it weird that I'm having performance anxiety?" Rachel whispered as Santana usher her into the kitchen with Ms. Jenkins following.

"Really? Aren't you soon to be Broadway's new ingenue? Pretend you're playing the part of you." Santana smiled taking her place back at the cutting board and continuing to slice vegetables for their side salad.

"Do you need my help? I sincerely doubt, Mateo will want to work with me after I frustrated him so thoroughly."

"Yeah, he's probably over it already, he loves his Rae; but if you insist on helping grab the bake ware and let's get these two lasagnas cracking."

After Dinner, Rachel sat across from Ms. Jenkins in the living room anxiously waiting for Ms. Jenkins to get settled and beginning her 'interview'. She shook her head trying not to focus on the ticking of the overhead clock.

"Ok, Ms. Berry..."

"Please, Rachel is fine."

"Okay, Rachel, tell me about Santana and your relationship, how you met, and the like?"

"Santana and I went to high school together. We didn't have the best of relationships then, but we kept in touch through a mutual friend and something just...sparked."

"Yes, you do seem quite different, but it works." Ms. Jenkins wrote something quickly in her notebook. "Tell me how gaining guardianship over Mateo has effected your relationship?"

"It's hard, some days are so hard, but it's made us definitely closer, everything seems to be falling into place for our little family."

"Mhmm and what about your career? From talking with your fathers..."

"You spoke with my fathers...?" Rachel faltered.

"Yes, earlier, they said that Broadway is your dream. What are your plans now?"

"My dreams are on hold, Ms. Jenkins, right now Santana needs me and she's got me, right here."

"So, then I suppose that after all is said and done and the case is closed you plan on moving back to the city and raising Mateo there?" Ms. Jenkins asked Santana. She'd finished with Rachel within half hour and had been talking to Santana for the last fifteen or so minutes. She enjoyed both women immensely and though they were drastically different she liked how they seemed to mesh.

"I am allowed to do so, correct?" The case manager nodded and Santana continued. "Of, course, it's where my job is, Broadway is there, and Matt would be exposed to so many great things in the city."

"Well put, and with few more positive visits you all could move to the city and your case would be transferred to one of their case managers for at least two more visits to make sure Mateo was settling in well. Give or take a few months you all could probably return to New York in four months."

"Four months..." Santana breath out not knowing if she was happy or sad about that revelation.

"Rachel, tells me that the two of you had a complicated high school 'friendship', how did you possibly manage to find yourselves at this point in your relationship?"

"Complicated?" Santana laugh derisively, "that's putting it mildly, we were at best enemies, but Rach has a good soul , we both lived in New York, but we weren't in touch. In fact, she doesn't know this but Brittany, my best friend, took me to see every off Broadway and off off Broadway show Rachel was in even the student pieces she performed. We're all really proud of her and I guess I'm just lucky she's forgiving..."Santana found herself admitting to the seemingly kindhearted case worker.

"Which reminds me when is the wedding?"

If she had been drinking anything she would have spit it out, she tried to school her face and recovered with, "we hadn't set a date and then it's been so hectic these days we haven't even talked about it."

"Can I give you some personal advice, Santana?"

Santana nodded curious as to what the older woman was going to tell her. "Don't let life, stop you from living. You girls seem pretty together, and you have a chance to really make something special here, don't take it for granted."

Once she'd sent Santana on her way Ms. Jenkins sat down on the living room floor playing with Mateo and his Legos. She found the boy to be very talkative and happy despite the events that brought them all together. He was busy trying to stack a few square pieces into a tower and she was building away at what was suppose to be a house, but was missing a wall, windows and a roof.

"Matt, I need to ask you some questions, ok?"

"I kno' Santi tol'me that you was gonna talk to me and I was spose to be honest cuz you was here to helps us."

"That's right. Tell me, how do you like living with your sister and Rachel?"

"I miss mami and papi, alot, but Santi y Rae ar'awesum. Santi never useta com'hom cuz mami sa'd she wa'doin gro'n'up work, but I like her here. Rae reads to me and he-I mean she helps me read."

"You not gonna take me away again, are you?" He asked after a moment of silence, his bottom lip quivering.

"I think you're where you need to be, so don't worry ok?" Ms. Jenkins replied ruffling the child's hair.

So, what do you think? I know some ppl think I'm moving slowly, but the PezBerry is about to pick up, promise.

Ink