Brittana future family fiction ~ this is nothing but happy fluff so it's not Steinbeck but it is sweet and fun and happy and the world could always use more Brittana
No D/D, no real angst
Unedited – All mistakes are mine / I don't own anything related to Glee / The kids are my own invention.
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Current age of the kids! Our ladies are about 38 years old.
Danielle Alexandra Lopez – 15 years old
Jason Santiago Lopez – 13 years old
Michael Rafael Lopez -9 years old
Abigail Lucia Lopez - 7 years old
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Chapter 8 The Campout
Brittany was concerned that the family had been through a lot this year, so she called a family meeting. Everyone trudged down to the living room from wherever they were situated in the house.
"Mamí, what is this meeting about?" Danielle hissed as she was pulled away from her computer in the middle of talking to her friends.
"Beats me, I didn't even know we had a meeting planned." She said without thinking, irritated when she saw the smirk on her daughter's face, "Don't start with me Danielle, I can still take your phone away until the next century if you give me any crap."
Now it was the Latina's chance to smirk as she watched her daughter's face fall, "When will you guys ever learn, I rule around here!"
Luckily for Santana she missed the knowing grins coming from her three youngest who were coming downstairs directly behind her and Dani, who quickly turned and rolled her eyes at her siblings as she imitated a whip cracking.
Dani squeaked when her tall blonde mother grabbed her ear and tugged, "Something you want to share with the class Danielle?" She said sternly leading her into the living room.
"No ma'am, not at all." She said quickly, rubbing her ear when Brittany let go of it and glaring at Michael and Abby who were snickering at her.
Santana went and sat down on the arm of the couch, while the kids gathered around her.
Brittany stood in front of everyone, "I've been concerned that we have had a lot going on lately as a family and even though we still have our family nights, I think we need to do a little more bonding as a family."
She narrowed her eyes at the chorus of groans, "You don't even know what I am about to say! You could at least listen to my idea before moaning about it." The blonde said sternly.
"Don't need to hear the idea to know I'm gonna hate it!" Dani whispered to Jace.
Santana reached over and flicked her ear, "Zip it and listen to your mother. Show a little respect for a change."
"Ow!" Dani said, "What is it with you two and ears all of a sudden?"
"Your mother works hard, she does everything for you bunch of ungrateful brats; she cooks, cleans, does your laundry, helps with your homework, keeps you all in line and runs the best dance studio in the world. The least you guys can do is show a little support and back your mom up when she has an idea. All she ever tries to do is help us be a better family. Go ahead sweetie, finish what you were saying."
Brittany smiled sweetly at her wife, "Thank you babe!" Santana nodded lovingly at the blonde.
"As I was saying, I want us to do something as a family that strengthen us as a whole, so we are going camping this weekend. I already borrowed all the equipment and we leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow." Blue eyes flashed merrily, she was very excited to spend the weekend in the woods camping with her family.
"Oh HELL NO!" Santana stood up and yelled, "I am a fancy lawyer, I stay in four star hotels, I pay $100 for my fingernails, I needs my fancy coffee every morning. I do not sleep on the ground, I do not like bugs, I do not like dirt and I will never pee in a hole in the ground!"
"I'm with Mamí on this, I bet you can't even get television or cell reception in the woods." Dani groaned.
"I think it's a great idea, I've always wanted to go camping." Jace piped up.
"Oh Mom, do you think we could go fishing?" Michael added enthusiastically.
"I think it will be super fun and we can make a fire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows." Abby gushed.
Brittany took a look around the room, "Great then its decided, majority rules, we are leaving early so get some sleep. Only pack what you can carry on your back in a backpack. Meeting dismissed."
The boys were talking back and forth excitedly and headed to the basement to look for fishing gear, Abby was bouncing all around her tall mother asking questions, while Santana and Dani stood by the couch looking lost and forlorn.
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Santana stomped up the stairs and went to confront her wife. She found her packing them both some clothes suitable for camping. Just as the Latina opened her mouth to start yelling, the tall blonde took her in her arms and kissed her passionately, "Oh San I'm so excited. Thanks for telling everyone to back me up and listen to me. You are the best wife ever." She kissed her again and then headed to the bathroom to pack some supplies leaving Santana standing there with her mouth open.
"Damn it, she totally played me again." She huffed out of the bedroom and ran right into Danielle.
"Did you fix this, can me and you stay home alone and not have to go get dirty and smelly? Please say you fixed this Mamí." She whined like a little girl.
"Just go pack Danielle and don't give me any grief." She grumped as she went downstairs to watch more television before it was forcibly ripped from her life.
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It was only 9 am and it felt like they had been walking forever. Santana was hot, sweaty and uncomfortable and absolutely starving. Her feet hurt and she had already been smacked in the face twice by branches that Danielle had let go of before she had a chance to get past them.
Santana broke out with a string of curse words all in Spanish and threatened Danielle's life if she let another branch go early.
The other brunette just smirked and mumbled a few curse words in Spanish herself. Her and her Mamí were bringing up the rear and she could tell her mom and her dumb brothers were getting irritated having to stop every half hour and wait for them to catch up. Even Abby was way ahead of them. This was all her Mamí's fault, why couldn't she ever say no to her Mom?
The Latina's legs felt like they weighed a million pounds, "Oh Dios mío, I cannot be this out of shape. It's not my fault I sit at a desk all day. I don't have time to run a dance studio and stay in shape; I have to make all the money!" She yelled loudly hoping that Brittany would hear.
Santana laughed when her oldest tripped over a big rock and cursed loudly. Normally she would scold her for her use of language but she was pretty sure Danielle had picked up that little gem from her just this morning. The once beautiful teenager was dirty faced and sweat streaked and her long hair was falling out of the ponytail she had it in so she just turned and glared at her Mamí, causing Santana to laugh even louder, right up until she tripped over the exact same rock.
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What seemed like hours later, Santana and Danielle came crashing through the woods into a clearing where the rest of the family was sitting around on rocks eating sandwiches Brittany had packed. They stumbled over to the rest of the family and collapsed in a heap on the grass, out of breath and moaning.
"I don't care what you say or do to me babe, I'm not moving another inch and you can't make me." She groaned loudly gasping for air. Danielle lay next to her nodding her head in agreement.
The tall blonde walked over to her two brunettes and handed them both water and some food, "Well then, I guess it's a good thing we are at the campsite then isn't it?" She just shook her head in fond amusement and headed back to the circle.
Danielle turned her head slightly and looked at her mother, "Do you think we can talk her into sending a helicopter to come pick us up on Sunday instead of making us walk back?" she said desperately.
Santana nearly cried thinking about walking back.
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Brittany as usual had everything organized and had assigned tasks to everyone. Jace and Santana were putting up the big 3 room tent. The girls were out collecting firewood and Brittany was unpacking things and setting up the campsite.
The Latina was pretty excited that the tent went up relatively trouble free but she really had her genius son to thank for that but she felt good about it anyway.
Brittany had promised them a dip in the river when the camp was all setup and everyone was looking forward to cooling off, it had gotten really hot all of a sudden. When everything met the blonde's approval they all headed off to the river and Santana felt a little energy returning as she sat on a rock in the shade and dipped her feet in the cool river water. The blonde came over and sat next to her and placed her head on the brunette's shoulder and sighed contentedly as they watched the kids' splash and play and have fun.
"I told you it would be great!" She said softly, "We are going to build memories that will last a lifetime."
Santana decided to just humor her wife and save her complaining for the walk back to the car, "So what's for supper? This being out in the fresh air makes a person pretty hungry."
"I guess it depends on what the guys can catch this afternoon."
"What?" Santana said in an eerily calm voice, "We didn't bring any food? What about the sandwiches?"
"Gone," The blonde laughed, "Half the fun is living off the land. It will be a great lesson for the kids. They will have a great time."
"Seriously Britt, no fucking around, you have more food right?"
"Nope, I packed lunch for today and marshmallows for Abs but we are going to fish and collect berries and I saw some apple trees a little bit back. Don't worry honey, I won't let you starve." She leaned over and kissed the Latina's nose and jumped down off the rocks and into the river to splash around with the kids.
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Luckily for them, the boys actually caught some fish from the river and Brittany and the boys cleaned them and got ready to cook while Abby and Dani found the little camping kits to eat off of. Santana sat and watched as her wife cleaned the fish. She was astounded; she had no idea that her wife knew how to do this kind of stuff. They had never been camping together before, she would have to ask Brittany when she learned to do all this stuff.
Dinner turned out great and Santana figured it was probably because she was so starved that cooked grass would have seemed like a delicacy but she was willing to concede the point that maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. She didn't want to admit it but food cooked over a fire was actually pretty tasty.
They built a fire and as the sun gently set, they told stories and sang songs and ate burnt marshmallows.
Abby started to yawn first, well really second after her Mamí but she had been yawning since she woke up. She crawled over to Santana and promptly fell asleep on her lap. Dani went over and picked her little sister up and took her to the tent and then the boys decided to go to bed as well.
The two woman spread out a blanket and lay side by side staring at the stars and listening to the fire pop, the river burble and the frogs croak. It was almost mystical.
"I had no idea there were so many stars, look how beautiful it looks." She took Brittany's hand in her own, "How did you learn to do all this?"
"My sister and I used to go with my Dad, my mom hated it and always stayed home but the three of us loved it. I always wanted to at least try it with the kids but I figured we would wait until Abby was older." She said softly her voice bittersweet in remembrance.
"I'm sorry babe…" The Latina said softly.
"For what honey?"
"For being all negative and you know complaining so much instead of really supporting you like I should have." She said sincerely.
"I'm just happy you came at all!" Brittany smiled up at the stars.
"Wait.. what? You mean I had a choice I could have stayed home? Son of a…. you tricked me…" The Latina sputtered.
The blonde squeezed her hand softly, "And have you miss all this and a chance to get naked with me under the stars next to the campfire?"
"Naked? Really? What about the kids?" Santana said, her hope renewed.
"Why do you think I marched them for 4 hours, for my health?" She laughed.
"Brittany Lopez, you are a genius, an evil genius, but a genius none the less." She leaned over her beautiful wife, pulling her into a passionate embrace as the two of them shed their clothes under the moon and stars.
"Wait till you see what I have planned for us tomorrow." She whispered seductively and smiled as Santana groaned in delight.
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Santana groaned as the sunlight hit her square in the eyes like twin laser beams. She noticed Brittany was gone and the pillow was cool, so she had been up for a while. Flinging her arm over her eyes to try to block out the sunlight, she tried to go back to sleep but it was useless, besides now she had to pee.
Moaning in pain as she rolled over onto her knees, she realized she was going to have to stand up in phases; first her knees, then one foot at a time. Every part of her body hurt and she felt like she had slept on a bed of nails.
Unzipping the tent, she was met with even more bright harsh sunlight and put a hand over her eyebrows as she looked around for her family. Not finding anyone about, she figured Britt had taken them out for a swim or a hike so she retreated into the bushes behind the tent to relieve herself. Brittany had been adamant that any bathroom functions take place at the designated spot half a mile from the campsite but what her blonde wife didn't know wouldn't hurt her. She snickered as she took care of business and snuck back to the campsite to look for something edible.
Sitting on the rack over the fire was a percolating pot of coffee, "gracias a Dios, she does love me!" She exclaimed, nearly tripping over the rocks surrounding the fire pit on her race to get coffee.
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Danielle tripped over another rock as ran into a branch that whipped across her leg leaving a very tiny little bleeding welt, "damnit, damnit, I hate nature, this sucks!" She muttered under her breath cautiously. She knew better to swear and complain with her blonde mother within earshot. There was absolutely no telling what her mom would have her do as punishment but it would be awful and she wasn't going to chance it.
She hopped on one foot as she licked her finger and wiped the blood away, wondering how on Earth she could possibly be related to these weirdo's who thought this was fun. Grumbling some more she wished for the 20th time this morning she was back at some fancy hotel lounging next to a pool that didn't have snakes and fish poop in it, like the stupid disgusting river.
Michael and Jace were a few feet in front of her and heard every word. Michael smirked at her latest barrage of swear words and Jace just shook his head and said, "I thought we left Mamí back at the camp site, Dani sounds just like her!"
Brittany, who was leading the way just a few feet ahead of her children, was aware of everything going on behind her and marveled again at how her oldest was a mini-Santana. Rolling her eyes, she picked up the pace and yelled over her shoulder, "Let's move it gang, we need to get back to camp with our bounty, Mamí is going to wake up starving!" She smiled widely at a dramatic groan that could only have come from Danielle.
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Santana heard them coming before she saw them and prayed they had food with them. She was dying of starvation. The coffee was awful but at least it was hot and had caffeine so she clutched her second mug and sipped it carefully.
Danielle was the last one through the bushes and she made a beeline straight for her Mamí and collapsed in a heap at her side, "Help me Mamí; she is trying to kill me. When did mom become such a tree hugger anyway? Please, tell her we need to go home soon or I'm not going to survive this weekend." Santana had the urge to roll her eyes at the whiny tone of her oldest but she felt it would be slightly hypocritical since she felt the exact same way as Dani.
"It's alright mija, it's only one more day, we are tough, you and me, we can do this." She comforted Dani softly, "The key is not to let her know she is getting to us." Her black eyes made contact with cheerful sky blue eyes and she smiled widely, "Now sit up and let's make the best of this." Santana said out of the corner of her mouth never breaking eye contact with her wife.
Her eldest huffed as she sat up and gave the exact same wide insincere smile to her blonde mother, causing Brittany to nearly choke on her coffee in amusement.
Breakfast was the same fish and berries they had for dinner and while everyone else ate with gusto, Santana and Dani choked down a few bites and prayed for a Big Mac meal to appear out of nowhere.
"How did you sleep sweetie?" Brittany asked her wife, making conversation as they all ate.
"Remember that story about the princess and the pea? How she wakes up with a bruise from sleeping with a pea under her mattress? That bitch has got nothing on me! I slept on a frigging boulder last night." She griped loudly.
Brittany gasped, "Santana! Language! I don't know what you are talking about, I slept right next to you and I was very comfortable."
"No, you slept right on top of me most of the night, of course you were nice and comfie!" She tried to stand up and discreetly dump the rest of the fish before she was busted. The brunette limped over to the garbage area holding her lower back. Abby started giggling, "Mamí, you're walking just like Mrs. Morgan does when she goes out to get her newspaper in the morning!" The little blonde said referring to their elderly neighbor.
Brittany saw black eyes narrow and glare at their youngest so she intervened quickly, "Anyone up for a swim?"
Everyone ran off to clean up and get swim suits and towels and fishing poles to head for the river, so the crisis was averted.
Santana and Danielle were the last ones to leave the campsite, so Santana showed her the bathroom shortcut in the bushes behind the tent, "Only for pee mija, you are right outside of my tent! No telling your mom though ok, this is just a shortcut for me and you."
"Ew Mamí, I already know that, I'm not disgusting you know like the boys!"
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The sun was shining brightly and Santana thought it had to be close to 100 degrees out, she changed into her suit and followed the gang down to the river. Wading out into the river, her old sneaker landed on mossy green rock and she lost her balance and landed with a loud splash. She came up sputtering and swearing and daring anyone to laugh at her.
Michael who was upstream a bit, yelled at her, "Way to scare away all the fish Mamí!" He said sarcastically.
"Good, if I never see another fish on a plate it will be too soon." She tried to stand up twice but kept slipping so she just stayed down and let the cool water wash over her. It felt heavenly; she could live with this, "Danielle!" She yelled loudly to the only child she was still on speaking terms with this weekend, "Come sit by me, it feels wonderful." Santana patted the water next to her, splashing like a child in the bathtub.
Brittany was glad to see her wife finally relaxing and having fun. Danielle just gave her a skeptical look, not liking the looks of the river at all.
The Latina yelled louder, "Danielle! Ahora!" In a tone everyone knew was not to be argued with.
"Coming Mamí!" She yelled back, "This seriously blows, I swear to….. I am running away from home if we ever have to go camping again…. We could have fun at a hotel with a pool and real food but no….." She mumbled and grumbled to herself all the way over to her mother, carefully scanning the river for snakes or anything else unsavory looking. She finally made her way over and plopped down next to her mother.
Michael who was upstream was rolling his eyes and giving them the Fabray eyebrow he somehow inherited when he noticed a long twisted stick at his feet. Glancing over to see what his blonde mom was up to and finding her occupied with Abby, he put the stick in the river and sent it down Danielle's way. He was trying to keep a straight face as he waited till the stick got closer to Dani and yelled, "SNAKE!"
Santana and Danielle both looked up at Michael with big wide eyes as he hopped around and pointed at the stick coming straight for them. Seeing the stick at the same time and assuming it was a snake, the two brunettes scrambled over each other trying to get out of the water first. They were both screaming and shrieking and trying to stand up but the riverbed was slippery and they kept falling back down. Santana was yelling and swearing in Spanish and Danielle put her hand on her Mamí's head trying to get to her feet, only managing to duck Santana under and slip and fall back in herself.
It was the funniest thing the Lopez children had ever seen, Abby was rolling around on the grass in a fit of giggles, Jace was grinning from ear to ear and Michael was beside himself. He was laughing so hard he had to hold his sides. He was bent over laughing when he noticed a rather large shadow behind him. Slowly turning he found his blonde mother standing firmly behind him with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face. Brittany was definitely not amused.
"Michael Rafael Lopez!" She yelled at him, "What do you have to say for yourself young man?"
He swallowed and said, "It looked like a snake to me?" He tried cautiously.
"You are already going to bed as soon as dinner is over for this little stunt, do you want to add lying to me on top of that?
"No Ma'am." He said looking down at the ground. None of the kids could bear to look Brittany in the eyes when she was angry and disappointed in them.
"Good, now go help your sister and your Mamí out of the river." She said firmly.
He looked downstream at the two furious Latina's crawling out of the river, looking like two angry half-drowned cats and he looked back at his blonde blue-eyed mother. She was definitely his safest bet at this point so he just shook his head no.
"I beg your pardon? I said to help them get out of the river, now!" She was getting angrier by the minute.
Michael looked back downstream and then back at his mom, Brittany noticed he was pale as a ghost. He just pointed at them and shook his head no. She turned her blue-eyes downstream and could swear she saw steam coming out of her wife and daughters ears. Yeah, she better keep Michael away from Santana and Danielle for a while, "Alright, go on head back further upstream with Jace and try to stay out of trouble please?"
The nine year old knew a break when he got one, so he grabbed his gear and ran upstream and out of sight, happy to disappear for the time being.
Brittany sighed heavily and headed down to make sure her wife and daughter hadn't killed each other getting away from the "snake".
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The rest of the day went pretty much the same as the night before except Santana decided to tell ghost stories around the campfire. She had some good ones saved up and she had a ball scaring all the kids half to death with a few of the classic ghost stories she knew from childhood.
Her and Brittany had just settled into the tent for the evening and she was happy to be going home tomorrow. She smelled bad, was battered and bruised, had scratches and mosquito bites everywhere and had gotten sunburn at the river. Looking over at her wife, the blonde looked like she was glowing. Brittany didn't have a mark on her and she didn't smell nearly as bad as Santana did. It was just irritating.
The woods were full of creepy noises and she was not surprised when Abby crawled into the tent, lip trembling announcing she was scared and wanted to sleep with her mothers. By the middle of the night, everyone was in the tent and Santana had Abby kicking her in the ribs, Michael's smelly feet in her face, Danielle curled up between her and Brittany and Jace on the other side of his mom. The boys were snoring and she hadn't fallen asleep yet. Santana counted the hours before morning, she couldn't wait to go home and take a hot shower and sleep in her own bed. If there was a hell, she was pretty sure camping was it.
The walk back to the car seemed shorter and she even sang along a few times with Brittany and the others as they sang some of the camping songs her wife had taught everyone. She could be a good sport now that they were headed home.
Brittany had Michael and Jace lead the way back and she slowed down enough to walk next to Santana. She put her arm around her wife's sunburnt shoulders causing the Latina to hiss in pain, "ow, owie, ow the shoulders…"
"Oh sorry babe, we'll put some aloe on it when we get home. So really, what did you think? I think the kids had a great time."
Santana snorted at the look Danielle shot her tall blonde mother, "Not all the kids hon and if you ever try to take me camping again, I will divorce you and leave all the kids with you." She walked ahead quickly leaving Brittany standing alone in dismay.
This time it was Danielle's turn to snort at the look on her mom's face, which she quickly tried to turn into a cough when Brittany glared at her, "Hold up Mamí, wait for me." She rushed ahead anxious to get out of the line of fire. Danielle had managed to avoid getting grounded this entire weekend; she was not going to get grounded on the way home.
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They had been home about three hours, when Santana noticed itching start. It was very uncomfortable but she tried to ignore it.
She was standing in her bedroom upstairs unconsciously scratching when a timid knock sounded on her door, "Come in." Santana called out.
The door cracked open and Danielle stuck her head in, "Hey Mamí, you got a second?"
"Of course mija, what's up?"
"Well… it's kinda….. I seem to …." She was turning all different kinds of red and stuttering painfully. It was not a state anyone saw the cocky stubborn teenager in.
"Spit it out Dani, what's wrong, are you all right?" Santana was getting concerned.
She shook her head yes, then no and stuttered some more.
"Sweetheart, I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong." The Latina said softly.
Danielle put her head down and closed her eyes, her face on fire, "I'm itching all over like crazy down there, I can't stand it anymore, it's so embarrassing but something is wrong, like totally wrong, with like my….. ya know….. down there….."
Santana suddenly understood, "in your lady parts?"
Danielle let out a rush of air, "Yes, it itches and burns and I'm losing my mind."
The Latina noticed her own itching, "Oh no, son of a….. me too! Let me see, lie down on the bed."
"What? No way am I flashing my lady parts at you."
"Oh for goodness sake Dani, do you know how many times I've seen you naked?"
"I don't care, besides it has been years and I'd like to keep it that way." The teen said stubbornly.
"Fine, but it's me or a doctor mija, I think we got poison ivy from out little bathroom shortcut. If that's what it is, it's gonna spread all over our bodies unless we get it treated."
"Do you know how to treat it? Please tell me you know how to treat it Mamí!" Danielle whined as she tried to stand still and not rub her thighs together or scratch anything.
"I'm gonna call your mom, she'll know what to do. No ratting me out about the bathroom shortcut, got it?"
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Brittany showed up armed with calomine lotion, steroid creams, benadryl and oatmeal baths for her two brunettes. They were both miserable and embarrassed as the blonde ordered them both into the oatmeal bath and then slathered them in soothing lotions.
Dani cried in embarrassment and Brittany sat her up and cradled her like she did when she was sick as a little girl, rocking her gently and singing to her. The teen sniffed and leaned into her mom's chest feeling safe and protected. When she fell asleep groggy from the benadryl, Brittany gently laid her down, kissed her softly on her forehead and went to check out her other favorite brunette.
Santana was lying on the bed on her side feeling miserable and guilty for the agony Danielle was going through. Brittany crawled in behind her and tried to snuggle up and comfort her wife.
"Don't touch me, I feel hideous and I'm sure I'm contagious." She sniffled.
"You're not hideous, you are beautiful and both you and your little partner in crime are going to feel better in a day or two. Besides, I've been sleeping right next to you the whole time, if I get it, I get it." The blonde said soothingly to the upset Latina.
"Is Dani ok, I heard her crying?" She sniffled again.
"She was just embarrassed that I had to put lotion on her backside. She'll get over it, believe me. It's fine."
"Oh B, I am so miserable." Big fat tears started to roll down her face.
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry, can I do anything for you?" The blonde snuggled closer and gently rubbed her arm up and down her wife's in a comforting manner.
"Yeah, next family bonding vacation can you make me and Danielle reservations at the Hilton while you and the rest of the family go camping."
Brittany chuckled lowly, "Of course baby, I can do that. It would have just been easier if you did what I asked though and just used the poison ivy free bathroom area I set aside for us."
Santana just lay there with her mouth hanging open while her wife laughed sweetly and kissed her neck, "Oh Sanny, when are you going to learn, I know everything!"
The Latina grumbled, "Evidently not soon enough."
The end, hope you liked it, please review….