Chapter 15
Whisper in the moonlight.
"Santana?"
"Hmm?" The woman hummed in response, leaning further back into Brittany while both set of eyes watched as the sun disappeared to give room for the moon and its night.
After the cheerful reception, they were contently settled in the Pierce's new beach house. Baby Dominic already fast asleep in one of the rooms and in the crib grandpa had installed specially for him. Gone was his suit, now replaced with just a diaper and a little tank top. Peacefully slumbering while his mothers were out on the deck's lounge bed with the baby monitor on, the sound of the rolling waves accompanied his dreams.
"Are you happy?" Brittany asked her, kissing her shoulder while her arms circled her middle with a little more determination. Surrounded by soft pillows, Santana was nestled between her legs, her back pressed onto her front.
Santana smiled and simply turned her head to look at her wife. Her blue eyes twinkling with the reflection of the torches' fire before pouty lips granted a warm and lingering kiss.
Brittany felt and heard the murmured answer against her mouth "Couldn't be happier." She grinned and buried her face in the black silkiness, inhaling the scent that was all Santana.
"And you? Are you happy?"
"The happiest. I'm all warm and fuzzy feelings," Brittany admitted, resting her chin on Santana's shoulder. She had a huge smile plastered on her face. Santana loved this woman, sometimes it was hard to even try to understand how much "Can we stay here forever?"
Santana chuckled "We can try but I don't think that's possible, baby."
"You're right. Puck and the board members would probably have a heart attack knowing I kidnapped their most valuable asset." Brittany playfully bit her earlobe and Santana rolled her eyes at the words.
"Well, I don't think that's true but thank you for saying it. We have worked just fine these months, everything has settled according to our plans and you only have to be there once or maybe twice a month for a few days at a time."
Brittany nodded "Indeed, but that's because I have the most skilled and productive representative ever. Did I mention she is beautiful and hot as well?"
"Not enough times it seems," Santana kissed her again, smiling sneakily "I'm so glad we found a good dynamic and established our schedules even better." She breathed, somehow relieved, and resumed the wet smooch.
After a few long minutes, Brittany was breathless and rasped "Do you know what would make me even happier?"
"What?" Dark eyes were halfway closed.
Brittany didn't respond with words. She just guided Santana body to lie fully on top of her, sliding down to a more comfortable position. Her hands rested low on Santana's back, sneaking under the fabric of the silky blouse to feel the warmness of skin against her fingertips.
Their lips were glued together and the low moans they were letting out were drowned by the sea in front of them. Santana straddled Brittany in a slow movement and placed her hands on either side of her head, staring down at the flushed face of her wife. She slowly leaned and placed another kiss on smiling pink lips, driving Brittany crazy when she sucked on her bottom lip and slowly traced a frisky tongue on it.
Blue eyes were closed while letting out a sigh. They remained in the same position for a while simply kissing with wandering hands up and down Santana's naked toned thighs and buttocks.
"What is it baby?" Santana whispered when she felt Brittany pushing her gently off of her but Santana didn't comply.
"I really, really hate to break the moment but let me go grab a condom. I'll be quick," She uttered out of breath.
Santana's full lips stretched into a smile and snaked her arms around Brittany to kiss her with renewed passion. She was just wondering when Brittany would ask for that when she felt the growing pressure.
When the kiss broke with a wet pop, Santana's heart melted at the sheer look of bliss on Brittany's face. She rested her forehead against hers and let out a laboured breath as Brittany sat. This was the moment.
"We don't need one. Not now and not in the months to come,"
Brittany blinked, looking at her darker eyes questioningly and Santana laughed with giddiness when Brittany couldn't utter a word for a good while.
"You ok Britt?" She teased.
"Wha- why? Are we- are you- San," She gulped and had a hint of a smile forming on her lips "Are we having another baby?" Brittany practically squeaked with emotion after a few minutes.
Santana nodded and pulled Brittany back into her arms. She was quick to return the gesture and started to laugh into Santana's neck. She kissed the spot before looking into her dark eyes when she could grasp her sanity again.
"Are you feeling well? Is it ok with you?" Her blues showing her genuine concern "Isn't it dangerous?"
Brittany listened carefully as Santana explained what Quinn had told her and recommended. True, it was not the best to get pregnant that soon but given the healthy development of her first one and the quick recovering of her body, it didn't represent bigger risks than any other pregnancy; however, they needed to be extra careful, just in case…
"Dominic is going to be a big brother! We're having another little one!" They both laughed and Santana settled even more on top of her, humming in satisfaction.
"It's a coincidence I found out this soon because I don't have any symptoms other than a missing period but I thought that was the last brick of my body snapping back into shape."
"Your six month appointment," Brittany realized and Santana nodded and kissed her after. Their lips parted, Brittany's brows furrowed adorably before she asked through her beam "How? I mean, of course I know how and I'm totally and happily responsible for it but we've been careful."
Santana chuckled, nuzzling their noses together "You know, I asked myself the same question…" A kissed to the tip of Brittany's nose "Do you remember the night I pinched you because you didn't say I love you properly?"
Her mind worked faster than ever"I do remember that night and you asked me to…" She cleared her throat and made Santana blush profusely "You wanted me to finish on another part of your body." Brittany motioned with one hand.
"Yes but that was the first time you... You finished where it counted the second time," She admitted while biting her lips andthat whole night dawned on Brittany.
"Oh…"
"Yeah, oh." She teased. Blue eyes were staring back at her in adoration, fully aware she was the cause of Santana's happiness.
"Well, it's safe to say we're extremely compatible then. My two shoots are effective."
Santana rolled her eyes in mocked annoyance and trapped Brittany's bottom lip between her own, muffling her more than satisfied giggle.
"You're just so pleased with yourself, aren't you?"
The giggle turned into an overt laugh "Yep," Brittany returned the playful nips eagerly "I also love the fact that I can tell the exact moment and how my children were conceived."
She shared a joyous laugh and received soft slaps to her shoulders before grabbing Santana by the waist and switching positions. No more coherent words were spoken, just sweet and low murmurs between intimate and gentle movements.
You will be the world to me and I will always be
dwelling in this happiness, your gift of purity …
Brittany was sure she was trying to swallow back her heart down her throat while the driver did his best to get to Quinn's practice as fast as he could. Rachel had taken Santana there after talking to Quinn and trying to calm her worried friend on the way.
Her steps were rushed and as soon as the receptionist saw her, guided her to where the mom-to-be was. The first thing she heard was the strong and distinct heartbeats of her baby and somehow that worked as a little calming balm to Brittany pale and scared self. Santana was already hooked to the monitors and tightly holding onto Rachel's hand. Quinn was about to apply the cool gel over her protruding stomach.
"I'm here," Brittany breathed stepping inside the room and Santana's watery and fearful eyes begged her closer. Rachel offered her a timid smile, kissed Santana's cheek and silently excited the room to wait outside as Quinn informed to Brittany that the scans were fine and the heart rate of the little organ was normal.
With their hands entwined, they both saw Quinn carefully doing her work. The clear image of their baby boy appeared and both let out a long sigh, smiling instantly at the 4d profile of him. The boy had his left thumb inside his mouth but wasn't moving that much. Quinn started to apply more pressure to a particular area, waiting for a reaction.
"Come on baby," Santana murmured, kissing the back of one of Brittany's hand "Let us know you're alright."
Quinn's mind held onto those words and asked Brittany to practically poke on the belly as well to get him awake. Slightly shaking, pale hands did the best and Brittany started to sing You are my sunshine out loud, both to calm Santana and get the baby to respond; she was pressing harder to the part where his feet were.
Her blue eyes closed and relief washed over the women when he kicked back a few of times and started to move as if waking up. Santana chuckled with tears rolling down her cheeks when she felt him again and Brittany continued to play with him for a long while that was enough to appease concerns.
"Apparently your boy is getting too comfortable in there. He was sleeping soundly." Quinn said through a smile when he appeared to yawn a couple of times, action that indicates the healthy maturing process of the brain, and turned away from them and the insistent probing. He was probably annoyed by then and thinking what's all the fuss about? I was just dreaming…
They waited a few moments and Santana couldn't be more grateful for the kicking and the normal flutter of her baby's movements she was feeling.
Wiping at her eyes, Brittany heard Quinn's words that reassured them everything was clear and that it wasn't uncommon to panic, especially in a first pregnancy. As the baby grows and develops, there are variations of the activity due to the reducing space but given the week Santana was in, it wouldn't be far for the frequent position changes to start and he certainly was normally responding to incitements, including sound and light.
"Oh, thank God!"The three laughed at Rachel's muffled expression on the other side of the door. Brittany pressed her lips to pouty ones and walked to open it and drew Rachel in for a thankful hug, lifting her off the ground for a moment.
All was good.
Santana was cuddled into Brittany, cradling her bump in silent relief while riding home in the back of a big SUV "Some adventure he gave us today, huh?"
Brittany chuckled at the words and kissed her temple "He did."
"I think he was just missing you, he's very used to having you around."
"Are you talking about him or you?"
Santana giggled "Both."
Suddenly, Brittany heard her sniffle and was confused for a moment "San, what is it? Are you feeling bad?"
She shook her head vehemently "No, I'm great it's just that I know you're tired but I'm really hungry,"
Brittany laughed at the pout Santana was giving her and replaced it with a smile when she kissed her lips "I'm not that tired but I'm reallyhungry too," The woman beamed adorably "What do you feel like having?"
Three weeks and a baby shower organized by Rachel and Mercedes that left Brittany wondering why on earth had Puck, Mike and all the men closer to them later, Santana continued to check on the white and blue closed door. Brittany was practically locked inside arranging the nursery.
"Son of a-! Damn it…"
"Britt, are you ok? Let me in,"
Santana was pressing her ear to the door and heard some rustling and a screech of furniture against the hardwood floor.
"I'm ok; I just trapped my hand in between the changing table and the wall. No biggie. I'm almost done."
"You've been saying that for hours," Santana playfully retorted but there was no response after. She was about to walk back to the living room when Brittany opened the door and offered her hand.
Santana gasped, tears formed in her eyes as she saw the nursery properly decorated and furnished. Brittany had it painted in light colours a few days ago and now had arranged everything inside. The space was now occupied by a crib with an adorable mobile, a changing table, a bookshelf filled with baby books and another one with toys and some stuffed ones as well; a night lamp softly casting its light near the crib and a rocking chair.
"What do you think?" Brittany asked as Santana sat on the chair, still holding her hand.
Santana shook her head and laughed "It's perfect Britt. You're perfect,"
Brittany kneeled in front of her and sweetly showered her bare stomach with kisses. Santana preferred to wear just a support bra and sweat pants around the apartment.
"Well, our little guy deserves the better." She looked up, kissing both of Santana's hand.
"Dominic."
"Mmm?"
She smiled at her twinkling blue eyes "I think his name is Dominic. I really liked it since you mentioned it and sounds like Sunday in Spanish,"
Brittany nodded "Why do you think I suggested it? I met you that day and we conceived him the same."
"Dominic Pierce." Santana murmured and leaned with a little difficulty to kiss willing pink lips.
The final weeks were spent practicing the breathing and relaxation exercises. Backaches and leg cramps were also present and Brittany, now full time with Santana, had collected the necessary clothes for the baby, Santana and herself as well and the safest car seat she could find.
When it was time, and like almost all pregnancies, her due date fluctuated a lot. It was more difficult for Santana to get a good night's sleep, because she just couldn't find a comfortable spot. She could still feel him move every day, Dominic's position had changed to prepare for his birth; It happened 2 days after the 40th week was completed. Santana was extremely restless and was experiencing more pain than normal but they were waiting for the right time to go to the clinic. Brittany stopped hearing her passing and panting and walked through the hall towards the bedroom, seeing her standing in the middle of it.
"San? Are you-" She halted her steps when she felt the trail of liquid on her feet. Her water had broken. Brittany gulped "Hospital?" Santana nodded frantically, wincing in pain and had to brace herself on the bed. Brittany snapped out of the initial stupor and went to her, helping her down while she make the necessary calls.
Quinn was already waiting for them when they arrived and admitted Santana immediately. It was just matter of hours to meet their son.
Seeing Santana in so much pain and aggravation terrified Brittany and she winced along with her with each contraction. The hours seemed to go in slow motion "It's a good pain. He'll be here soon." She said smiling out of breath upon seeing Brittany's expression "You won't pass out on me when the time comes, right?" Santana teased her to ease her mind and keep her attention.
Brittany gave her a timid smile "I should be comforting you, not the other way around." She kissed a sweaty forehead matted with black hair. She was calm when Maribel arrived and informed them everyone was on the way.
Pushing required a tremendous and excruciating effort after 10 hours of labour. Brittany had never heard Santana scream and roar like that and she was sure she could never forget it. She dutifully counted and held her hand the whole process when Quinn gave the instructions.
"You're doing excellent Santana," The young dr. encouraged "Come on, one more. We're almost there."
"Almost my ass!" Santana screeched as an intense contraction invaded her "Just get him out already!"
Brittany held tighter "He needs your help then," She whispered softly, pressing her lips to her temple. "You can do it, San."
Santana nodded frantically, gritting her teeth and felt a little relieved when Quinn announced the head was out. Brittany chuckled and felt brave enough to peek at her baby boy, disregarding the blood and that other gooey stuff she saw on him. Her blue eyes filled with tears and Santana's panting and final pained scream sounded foreign as she witnessed and welcomed her boy into the world.
Soft cries echoed through the room and somehow everything seemed brighter and warmer. Santana collapsed back on the bed exhausted, drenched in sweat and watched as her baby was cleaned and wrapped in a soft blanket. She started to cry when Quinn placed Dominic on her chest, hearing him inconsolable after leaving his beloved bubble.
Brittany was in awe at the image before her. She was already enamoured with the boy but finally gazing at him in the arms of Santana was not something she could ever describe with the right words. Brittany was entranced with them when an equally crying Maribel asked her if she wanted to cut the cord.
"It's ok, it won't hurt them." Maribel reassured her when Brittany looked at her with doubt.
"So, you're the one that made all the fuss inside, huh? We've been waiting to meet you, Dominic." Santana sweetly cooed to him, his cry diminished considerably when he heard the familiar soothing voice. Her bright smile made her glow despite the exhaustion and her eyes found beaming blue ones. Brittany was speechless as she stood beside Santana and her child "He's asking for you. He wants to meet you."
A teary chuckled erupted from her and carefully held their darling boy, inspecting everything about him. The turf of blonde on his head, his pink, wrinkled and squishy face, his gaping lips and his moving little hands and legs; she counted his fingers and toes and how many times he tried to open his eyes that still were mere slits.
Murmuring sweet nothings to him, he completely stopped crying and Brittany felt she could reach for the stars and the sun when he looked at her for the first time and out of reflection reached for her nose. That portrait was engraved on Santana's mind.
After he returned from the standard testing, Santana had him snuggly wrapped in a baby blue blanket and his head was now sporting a little cap. He was fast asleep when Brittany entered their room, wearing the matching hospital wristband on her right hand.
"Hey Jack." She happily greeted her.
"Hey Sally- Britt, what happened to you?" Santana questioned concerned when she saw the adhesive bandage on her forehead, a little over her left temple.
"The adrenaline wore off when I was informing everyone of Dominic's birth and apparently I fainted," Brittany explained nonchalantly "My dad couldn't reach for me faster and they said I bumped my head on the corner of the coffee table."
"But are you alright? How are you feeling?"
"I'm ok, it's just a bump. Your mom took care of me."
Santana shook her head and sighed, directing the soft words at the slumbering new-born "See, that's why mommy and hospitals don't mix." Santana inspected the covered bump on her face and kissed it softly. The darling boy started to fuss and it would result on his first meal, much to his moms' wonderment.
To say Dominic was a popular little boy was an understatement, everyone wanted to meet him right away and he was just fine with it. His first day at home went smoothly; he slept a lot and only attempted to cry when he was hungry and needed a diaper change, something that Brittany was happy to be in charge of and like the smitten parents they were, every first he had was cherished; first bath, first attempt of a smile, even the first heartfelt cry was something that made their love grow each passing day.
The favourite part of the day for Brittany was when Santana rocked him gently to sleep, singing lovely lullabies in her utmost caring voice. Santana for her part, lost count of how many times she woke up only to find Brittany in the nursery, sometimes just observing Dominic, others walking slowly with him in arms, or cradling him to her chest while resting on the couch.
As the weeks passed and he grew more alert and stayed awake for longer periods of time, they both could sleep better because even if Santana was the one to wake up in the night to nurse him, Brittany would always be with them, no matter if she could continue sleeping. Their plan was that for the first few months of his life, Santana would stay at home with him while Brittany worked and after, Brittany would get off from work and Santana would take her place.
True to his nature, Dominic was a healthy and peaceful baby. He rarely cried and loved when Brittany nuzzled her nose with his, right before taking a playful bite out of his round tummy. It was unbelievable how well he was adjusting and how smoothly their family had started.
Brittany returned to her duties after his first month but it prove to be the most difficult thing she had to do. Having Santana and him to herself all day was something she quickly got used to.
"You would never leave us, right?"
One morning, Brittany was getting ready while Santana watched her as usual and was surprised with the question and the scared tone of her voice. Santana sounded so little "What kind of question is that?" She gently countered in the middle of buttoning her shirt.
Santana smiled sadly and shook her head at herself "I'm sorry, it's silly." She dismissed.
"Hey, come here," She pulled her closer, offering a comforting hug "You're thinking of him, aren't you?"
Santana didn't say anything and swallowed the lump on her throat as discreetly as she could "I'll go get Dominic. You're going to be late."
That was the end of the topic but it gave Brittany something to think about.
Seven months of Dominic's life had passed flawlessly. A proposal, a house as a wedding gift, another proposal, a wedding and now, he was going to be a big brother, much to his obliviousness.
At that time he was perfecting the art of scoot, roll and crawl, always under the watchful eye of Santana and Brittany and around the baby super proofed house. His latest accomplishment was the ability to hold and drink from a sippy cup, and sometimes eat from a spoon the mashed fruits and vegetables, getting more of it on the floor, his hair and cheeks that on his mouth.
Now, when he smiled and laughed the grin was no longer toothless, they could see the cutest bottom middle two teeth, soon followed by the two top middle teeth. Brittany and Santana, along with their family and friends could probably cover all the walls of the world in pictures of him and every single milestone.
After eight weeks pregnant, Santana practically was feeling the same when she was expecting Dominic, only her morning sickness was actually in the morning and was a little worst.
"I've been thinking…" Brittany started to talk as they were getting ready for bed after a quick shower "I can try to find your father if you want. You could talk to him."
Santana froze "Brittany, I don't want to talk about this now."
"You never want to talk about it but it's bothering you."
"Nothing is bothering me and please stay out of it." Her tone was short.
Brittany sighed deeply "San, I'm just suggesting something. I know you've been thinking about contacting him since Dominic was born."
"Just for once," Santana huffed annoyed and raised her voice "Can you just stop pressuring me and assuming what's best for me? I'm a grown up woman!"
Brittany nodded and walked to retrieve a blanket from a drawer "Ok and just for once, can you act like one when you're scared?" She reversed evenly.
"Where are you going?"
"To the family room, I'll watch the news or something. I'm not sleepy anymore." Brittany said in the same monotone and left the bedroom.
Two hours later and she was idly watching some crappy old show. She was drifting off to sleep when she felt the built in couch dip with Santana's weight. Neither said a word but Brittany opened the blanket and her arms for Santana to settle in, half on top of her.
"I thought you were already sleeping."
"I couldn't," Santana whispered against her collarbone "Everything smells of you and it was driving me crazy."
Brittany rasped a chuckle "Well maybe it would help if you weren't wearing my clothes."
"But they look better on me." Santana cheekily countered.
"True." She hummed and tightened her hold around Santana.
Santana kissed her collarbone and her jaw, tickling her "I'm sorry for snapping back at you. You took me by surprise, that's all."
"I'm sorry too," Brittany pressed her lips to her forehead "You're right, it's none of my business,"
"But it is. You love me and worry about me."
"I do, but I picked the wrong time to bring that up." Brittany admitted.
They remained in silence for a few minutes until Santana decided to talk "I don't know if I want to see him or speak to him or even if it's something good for me but Dominic and this new baby really make me wonder about why," She propped herself up to look down at understanding blue eyes "You see, I can't even imagine about my life without you, without our boy and this little one and thinking that it was so easy for him to just leave…" Her voice quivered.
Brittany sat and pulled Santana into her embrace, soothing her, and washed away a single tear that rolled down her cheek "I understand." She said while trading her fingers through her silky hair.
"I don't really remember his face. I don't have a picture of him but I have this blurry memory of his birthday. I remember my mom and I spent the whole morning making his favourite cake," Both chuckled quietly "Of course I was helping to just make a bigger mess at 4 years old and my cheeks felt funny with the dried flour I had. I saw my mom so happy and I couldn't wait for him to come home."
She paused to clear her thoughts and Brittany loved her even more for finally sharing the hurt she had always kept hidden.
"He never did."
Santana smiled sadly when she saw the tears that fell from blue eyes but hers remained brave and somehow, she felt lighter and protected inside Brittany's arms.
"You have no idea how proud I am to share my life with you. I love you so much Santana, so much." Brittany declared in honesty, earning a genuine happy smile.
She nodded and searched for pink lips, revelling in the comfort they always offered her. With their bodies tight against each other, they laid down on the bed-like couch to sleep.
"Whenever you're ready, let me know what you want to do." She murmured against her black hair.
"I will Britt. Right now I just want to be with you and see our babies grow."
"Always together."
It was a declaration that left no room for doubts, not anymore.
You and Me it will always be,
You and Me Forever be,
Eternally it will always be You and Me …