A/N Sorry it's taken so long, for anyone who is still following this story thank you so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter! For people who have been asking for Brittana/Santana it is mentioned in this chapter and I also have a bonus short chapter written which is purely Brittana if people would like to read it.
I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review if you like it, I love hearing feedback!
Chapter 2 - First Family Outing
Brittany and Hollie had been at Rachel's for a week and they had settled in well. Brittany had continued at the same school but school was better. Rachel's dads (who are really her dads now) managed to get her some support at school in order for her to progress at school faster and she was managing to get her grades up, which made Brittany very happy. Hollie had been moved to McKinley middle school and also had support, which was slowly but surely helping her. School had changed even for Rachel. Brittany is still on the cheerios but she always makes sure Rachel is okay at school, managing to get Santana and Quinn to stop teasing her so much and sitting with her at lunch. All in all, things are going quite well for the 3 girls. Hiram and Leroy have decided to organise a 'family day out' with their daughters, which is how they came to be all sat in the living room, discussing what to do.
"Well, I for one think that a stimulating trip to the theatre would be the perfect opportunity for us to really bond as a family" Rachel says in her usual, dramatic tone as Hollie just sits there looking confused.
"Well, what about we go to the Animal Park?" Hiram suggests
"Dad, that's for babies!" Rachel declares
"I like animals!" Brittany smiles
"Plus Rach, they just got a 4d cinema there" Leroy adds in order to try and persuade his eldest daughter.
"But I really think the theatre would be ..." Rachel begins, determined that her idea is the best.
"Rachel, I wanna see the animals with you" Hollie says, looking up at her big sister with wide eyes and an angelic smile (a trick she had learned from Brittany – for life on the streets, being able to manipulate people was a useful and necessary skill)
"Fine, we can go to the animal park" Rachel says, cursing her inability to say no to Hollie as Brittany grins widely.
"Right, lets get some things together and then we will go" Hiram states as everyone walks out of the room.
A little while later, the girls and their dads get into the car. Hiram and Leroy climb into the front as the girls get into the back, with Rachel in the middle of her younger sisters helping Hollie with her seatbelt. Once she is finished, she picks up a pile of dvd's from the floor of the car and roots through them. The car has screens on the back of the seats with a portable dvd player connected, which Rachel has used to entertain her on car trips since she was little. Brittany is watching Rachel root through, smiling as she reaches a Wiggles disk.
"Rach, lets watch the Wiggles! They do good songs" Brittany grins, bouncing up and down slightly in her seat. Rachel giggles gently, smiling at the blonde. She had discovered the Wiggles a few months back and had only realised they were meant to be for kids when she had mentioned something to Finn about them. However, she still loves the music and knows that her sisters do too after she spent a night watching the dvds with them, which is confirmed when she puts the DVD on and all 3 of them start singing along.
They sing along all the way to the Animal Park. Once they have arrived, they get their tickets and enter the park complex. There are several different areas with different types of animals in each. Hiram is stood next to Brittany when he spots the aquarium.
"Britt, look! There's an aquarium here" he tells her, smiling.
"Is that the toilets?" Brittany asks, confused
"No sweetie, it's where the water-based animals are, like fish and dolphins." Hiram tells her.
"Will there be ducks?" Brittany grins excitedly. Back when she was at the hostel, if she had any spare time then she would go to the duck pond and watch them move around the water happily.
"Most likely, do you wanna have a look?" Hiram says, noticing the grin on his daughter's face.
"Yep!" she beams, clapping her hands together before taking Hiram's as he guides her over.
Leroy is stood with Rachel, who is holding Hollie's hand and looking around all the signs.
"Wow, there are lots and lots of animals!" Hollie says excitedly
"I know!" Rachel replies, smiling at the younger girl before turning to Leroy
"I wanna see this 4D cinema you were talking about dad!" she says
"Why do we go have a look around first, then we can meet up with Hiram and Brittany to go to the gift shop and the dolphin show and after that, I promise we can go to the cinema" Leroy suggests. Rachel thinks it over for a second before nodding.
"Okay, sounds fair" she says, before following her dad and Hollie towards the first sign posted area.
Meanwhile, Hiram and Brittany are in the inside part of the Aquarium. It is a large blue room with lots of little tanks around it and one giant one with a couple of sharks in. Brittany is watching the small turtles swimming and Hiram is stood behind her, pointing various things out. Suddenly, one of the sharks comes swimming towards the glass in front of where Brittany is stood and she lets out a small yelp before jumping backwards. Trying to ignore the fact that Brittany has just jumped on his foot, Hiram puts his arm around Brittany's shoulder and gently motions her to turn around to face him.
"Its okay Britt, it can't harm you, it's behind a lot of thick glass, see?" he says soothingly, tapping the glass very lightly to illustrate his point. Brittany nods weakly and asks "Do you mind if we have a look in the gift shop now?"
"Sure sweetie, I will buy you something if you see anything you like" he tells her, which makes her smile
"Really? Thanks... dad" she says, hugging Hiram before taking his hand as he leads her out and towards the gift shop.
Rachel, Leroy and Hollie are already at the gift shop when Brittany and Hiram arrive. Leroy greets his husband and makes him try on a large silly hat, which makes Brittany giggles softly. Rachel and Hollie are stood in the soft toy section, with Rachel holding Holly's hand and pointing out all the different animals as Hollie tries to decide which one she would like. Brittany walks over to her sisters and puts a hand on her big sister's shoulder. Rachel smiles at her before telling Brittany she can choose a soft toy too if she wants. Hollie picks out a small turtle and grins at Rachel, who nods and smiles back. Hollie hugs the turtle as Brittany looks at the selection of toys.
"Britt, there's a dolphin there" Hollie says to her sister, pointing to a selection of stuffed toy dolphins. Brittany squeals with excitement and picks up 2.
"Rach, there's one for me and one for Kurtsie!" she smiles "I have to get something for Santana too"
Brittany had dated a lot of people, both boys and girls, over the past few years but recently, she had finally got some form of stability by dating Santana. Sure, Santana has her mood swings and apparent 'bitchiness', but she's calmer and softer around Brittany, as much as the Latina doesn't like to admit that herself. Brittany scans the shelves of souvenirs, trying to find something for her girlfriend, before seeing a toy grizzly bear.
"Look Rachie!" she squeals, getting her sister's attention "It's perfect for San, looks tough on the outside but she's soft and cuddly inside!"
Rachel laughs softly at the description of the brunette cheerio and nods, telling Brittany it's definitely perfect. The 3 girls head towards the checkouts to pay and Rachel pays for her and Hollie's items whilst Hiram sticks to his promise of paying for Brittany's. They each have a little bag with their things in and they each hold their own bag in their hand as they walk out of the shop towards to the dolphin show.
When they turn up to the show, there are only 4 seats left. Hollie looks sadly at Rachel, who picks her up into her arms and strokes the younger girl's hair gently. Turning to her younger sister, Rachel smiles gently.
"Holls, you can sit on my lap if you want, then everyone gets a seat." She says softly
"That's a good idea Rach" Hiram says, smiling at his eldest daughter. Hollie grins and nods, letting herself be carried by Rachel to the seat next to the aisle and then sitting on her sister's lap. Brittany sits on the seat next to them, with Hiram and Leroy taking up the other two seats. A person comes around selling plastic bottles filled with slushy. Rachel frowns, she hates slushy as it reminds her of school and getting pelted with the freezing cold liquid. Brittany sees this and puts a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder.
"It's okay Rach, no-one will slushy you here" she says, smiling at Rachel who calms down slightly. They settle down to watch the dolphin show, clapping and cheering at the appropriate moments. Once it is over, they file out of the seating area and Hiram smiles as he sees the 3 girls yawn slightly. Hollie is still in Rachel's arms and Brittany is carrying the bags, blinking her eyes to try and keep herself awake. Leroy walks up to Hiram's side and takes his husband's hand, smiling.
"I think it's time to go girls" he says, watching as their 3 daughters all nod weakly and they head to the exit. The girls are re-united with their toys they bought earlier and Brittany climbs into the car, followed by Rachel who passes a sleeping Hollie to Leroy before climbing in herself. Hollie is lifted into the car and strapped into her seat by Leroy before he walks to the front and climbs into the passanger seat.
"Do you think the girls will want the dvd player for the way home?" Hiram asks, smiling as both him and his husband look back to the back seat and see that all 3 girls have now fallen asleep.
"No, lets enjoy the peace whilst it lasts" Leroy says, taking a quick picture on his phone of his sleeping daughters before facing the front again "Let's get home"