I am still working on SIS, but you know when you're working on more than one story and one flows better than the other one for a time? That's what's happening here. I have a lot of SIS written. It's just not chronologically next in the story. :D
Now back to seriousness.
When Santana's parents came home from her grandmother's house, Andrea Lopez caught Rachel eating a bacon sandwich. Nodding at her and Santana, she slid her purse down onto the kitchen counter, "Good evening, Rachel, Ana. I see Brittany isn't around anymore…?"
Swallowing the large lump of bread and bacon that she had just bitten out of the sandwich in her hand, Rachel smiled, "Yes, she left soon after you did, saying Lord Tubbington was waiting with fish soup."
Focusing intently on the bacon sandwich she was making for herself, Santana tried to keep herself breathing normally. Her mother was smart. And knew that Rachel was vegan.
"Well that was very kind of him. Maybe you could learn something from that cat, Ana," Andrea smiled, leaning over the counter to swipe one of the strips of bacon Santana hadn't used yet.
"Hey!" Protesting, Santana made a face at her mother, sliding the plate of bacon farther away from her sticky fingers, to which Rachel grinned and stole her own piece. Santana glared sullenly at her, "That was mine, you know. And Mom, I feed and water Rachel on an almost daily basis."
Rachel finished chewing and swallowed the whole piece of bacon she'd stuffed into her mouth. She smiled teasingly up at Santana, "Yes, hun, I love you for how you provide me food."
"Damn right." Smirking, Santana couldn't help dropping a quick kiss on Rachel's lips.
Andrea cleared her throat. "So…" her voice sounded equal parts amused and suspicious, "While Luís finishes putting Lianette down, I'm curious. Rachel, aren't you vegan?"
Santana swallowed. Suddenly her bacon sandwich didn't seem so appetizing anymore. Aware of Rachel's hand reaching for hers, she laced their fingers together. "Now, huh?" she whispered, the sickening feeling in her stomach doubling when she met Rachel's wide eyes.
Rachel pushed her sandwich away, nodding shallowly. "I'm… I'm not hungry," she explained, dropping her gaze after hesitantly smiling at Andrea.
Frowning and looking incredibly confused, Andrea straightened. "Hey, are you okay? Ana…?"
Santana avoided her gaze. "Uhm, why don't we go into the living room. I'll collect Dad. You follow her, Rache." Squeezing Rachel's hand, she forced a smile and gently pressed a kiss against her forehead, stepping backwards.
Catching her hand, Rachel gave her an already watery smile. "I love you."
Her heart thumping, Santana nodded. "Love you too." Avoiding her mother's gaze as she skirted around her and left the kitchen, she had to stop to catch her breath before she burst into tears. Leaning back against the wall outside of her sister's room, she almost started crying again when she heard the absolute love in her father's voice as he wished Lianette good night. Lianette may have been a surprise, Santana's mother finding out she was pregnant about three months before Santana and Rachel had gotten together, but, as Santana would hope with her baby, she'd been happily accepted.
Hell, she smiled, wiping a couple of tears away from her eyes, it wouldn't only be Beth who would get a new playmate.
"Ana?" Closing the door to the nursery room, Luís Lopez smiled curiously at his daughter.
"Hey. Dad. How's, uhm, how's Lia doing?" Santana nodded at the door.
Luís followed her gaze, then turned back to her. He smiled, shrugging. "I just put her to sleep, but if you're really quiet, you can go in and see her."
"No, no, that's okay." No. If she went in and saw the precious little girl, she'd definitely burst into tears, and she needed to be strong. For Rachel and for herself. Clearing her throat to push back the pressure in her head and throat, she motioned behind her with her thumb, "Let's go to the living room."
Not waiting for his response, she turned and strode quickly down the hall, shoving her clenched fists into the pockets of her jeans. She needed Rachel's presence.
No. She just needed Rachel.
Crossing the threshold, she didn't pause to fully take in the room before walking to join Rachel on the loveseat. Finding her girlfriend's clammy hand as soon as she sat down, she took a deep breath and forced the lightheadedness from her head. She was going to be strong. For both of them.
No. She mentally shook her head, lacing Rachel's hands with hers and providing a side and shoulder and thigh for Rachel to lean on, she had to be strong for all three of them.
From the couch across from them, Andrea was sitting forward, looking as if she didn't know if she should be concerned, afraid, apprehensive, or confused. "…Ana?"
"Oh my god…" Rachel muttered, hand crushing Santana's as she stared down at her knees. "San."
Santana swallowed. "I know, Rache," she whispered back, wanting to just pull the small girl into her arms and completely surround her, shield her from her mother's and newly arrived father's gazes. "But we're okay. You're okay. We just need to do this. And, babe." She nuzzled Rachel's ear, "Can you please calm down? Try?"
Trembling, Rachel met her gaze, tried to smile, and nodded. She let out a big breath, like all the air had left her body. "Yes. I… I can. Thank you."
"Uhn-uh. Thank you." Watching Rachel pull on an almost perfect mask of courage, Santana squeezed her hand, pulled her arm into hers, and, promising herself that no matter what happened, she was prepared to do what was right for her girl and her baby, she turned her head back to her parents.
Luís had the same expression his wife had on his face. "Girls?" he spoke softly, as if he was afraid to break the tension in the air, "You… Have something to tell us?"
Andrea put her hand on his knee, nodding. "Is… Is everything okay?"
"Mo-om, Da…" Her throat constricting painfully, Santana had to shake her head and look up at the ceiling to blink back the pressure in her eyes. C'mon, Tana, you can do this. You have to do this.
"Hey…" Sharing almost panicked looks, Andrea and Luís seemed to lean even closer to them, barely sitting on the couch. "Please, girls, you're starting to – are you okay? Do you need help?"
Rachel began shaking her head, fingernails digging into Santana's hand. Biting back the discomfort, Santana closed her eyes, swallowed a couple of times, sucked in a deep breath of air through her nose, and then looked back at her parents. "Dad. Mom." Wanting to shout, 'please don't kick me out! don't get angry! just listen. don't abandon us,' she used the last ounce of desperate hope to blurt out, "The doctor's were wrong."
"Wha – "
"I'm pregnant."
Andrea's face went white, red, slack with shock. Eyes widening dramatically, Luís sat up straight. "Ana, this isn't funny," he gruffed.
"It's not a joke," Santana shook her head, seeing Rachel repeat her action in her peripheral vision. It didn't really surprise Santana that her girlfriend had ended up just saying the situation outright. Rachel was like that: blunt and direct when she needed to be.
Rising from the couch, Andrea slowly walked towards them; staring up at her, Santana clenched her jaw as she tried to figure out if she should bolt, cover Rachel, or be prepared to push her mother away.
As the older woman approached, Luís stood up as well, shaking his head as he started pacing back and forth.
Stopping right in front of Rachel, Andrea knelt down. "Are you sure?" she whispered.
Trying to swallow back tears, Rachel nodded. "S-seven weeks."
"Ohh." Dropping her gaze to Rachel's belly, Andrea's expression was one of dawning comprehension. "Are you healthy?"
"Yes. I just got some prescription for vitamins," Rachel glanced at Santana, who nodded, giving her a small, supportive smile. It was hard meeting her mother's gaze, but she did it. Instantly, the tears started welling again. "Mom…"
When her father's voice cut through what she was going to say, Santana's head snapped up, "How do you even know it's yours, Santana?"
Rachel looked devastated, and anger shot hot through Santana's veins. Her dad notwithstanding, Santana was not going to stand for it. "Shut up!" she yelled, jumping up to put herself between her father and her girlfriend, "That's my – that's Rachel you're talking about!"
Stony-faced, Luís ignored his daughter, craning his head to stare at Rachel. "I don't know what you're playing, here, Rachel; using Santana's uniqueness to force her to play house, but I thought better of you."
Balling up her fist, Santana only just managed to hold it back. "Dad," she growled, Andrea's incensed, "Luís!" providing an almost physical wall of censure, "You better shut the hell up or I swear to god I'll end up doing something that doesn't look so bad right about now."
"Luís, you need to calm down," Andrea managed to lower her voice, rising to approach her husband, "It's not good for Rachel or the baby."
"Oh don't pull that crap," Luís shook his head, "That's not even your grandbaby!"
"Yes it is!" Santana roared, honest to god starting to vibrate with anger; Rachel's baby was hers, hers! "Dammit, Dad, can you just shut the fuck up? This is Rachel. You know Rachel. And… And even if the child was someone else's, she would have told me."
Rachel was crying heavily, shoulders shaking. "I swear, Mr. Lopez. There's only been Santana. And I – I know this doesn't make any sense, but it's true."
Breathing in sharply through his nose and moving his gaze back and forth between Santana and Rachel and his wife, Luís finally gave a sharp, decisive shake of his. "No," he let out lowly, taking a step back, "I can't accept this." Walking stiffly towards the entrance to the living room, he paused. "I'm… I'm sorry. But… I can't."
"Dad…" Santana tried, but her father exited. "Mom?" she turned to her mother, her voice small and full of building tears, "Do you… You believe us, right?" It felt like her dad had taken all the air out of her lungs, and she needed someone she loved to make things right. Oh god. She should have expected this.
"San?" Rachel whispered plaintively, and Santana unlocked her legs to bring her back to her girlfriend, sitting down and immediately pulling her onto her lap. Rachel's body was rigid and tiny and full of stress, and Santana knew she had to buck the fuck up and concentrate on her.
Andrea slowly sank onto the seat Rachel had been sitting in. "Girls…" she sighed, sounding close to tears as well, and she started rubbing Rachel's back comfortingly, "I… I think I do. Rachel, you love Santana, right?"
Rachel nodded jerkily into Santana's neck, and Santana knew she had at least one teary eye trained on Andrea.
"And if nothing… Distasteful happened…?"
"No." Putting strength into her voice, Rachel sat up to look at Andrea directly, then at Santana, "Only Santana."
Oh, Baby… "I hadn't even thought of that…" Santana whispered, and she tightened her hug when Rachel settled back into her.
Soft lips kissed her neck. "Only you."
"Then I believe you." Drawing in a deep breath, Andrea looked at the ceiling, then back to Santana and Rachel. "Look at you…" she sounded sad and oddly proud, "You're going to have a hard time with this, aren't you?"
Santana nodded. "I'm going to get a job," she offered, feeling like she needed to make her mother understand she was fully in it.
"What?"
Santana gave Rachel a small smile. "I have to support you, Rachel. And there are going to be fees and so many other things we'll need money for. I told you. I'm in this."
Rachel's lower lip trembled. "But what about the Cheerios?" she whispered, sitting back on Santana's knees, "I don't want to…"
Kissing her softly, Santana stopped Rachel's protests. "Hey," she whispered, reaching a hand up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Rachel's ear, "I can do both."
"Doesn't Ms. Sylvester forbid you to have a job?" Andrea asked quietly.
Santana met her eyes confidently. "I don't care."
"Ana…" Managing a smile, Andrea stood up, bending down to press a kiss against Santana's forehead, then repeating it with Rachel, "You're growing up too fast. I'm proud of you. Both of you." She sighed, "Let me deal with your father. I… Hate to say this, but maybe you should find a place to spend the night for tonight and maybe the next couple of nights. Rachel." The older woman smiled at Rachel, "Don't take what Luís said to heart. He loves you – we both do – but he's in shock."
Rachel nodded, "I know."
God. Rachel was so strong. Tugging her back, Santana nuzzled her cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Over Rachel's head, Andrea caught her daughter's eye. 'You picked a good one,' she mouthed, and Santana had to look away to stop from crying, nodding to signify she'd understood.
"Alright, I imagine you two want some time to yourselves. Rachel, honey, you have my cell phone number, right? Please, call me if you have any questions. I know you don't have too many women in your life, and you're going through something incredibly scary. And goodness knows Santana won't understand half of what's going to happen to your body. Ana, please, say goodbye before you leave the house."
Right. "Will do," she muttered, and Andrea gave her a sad smile.
When her mother left, Santana leaned her head back against the loveseat. "That…" she started, smiling when Rachel started trailing kisses up her neck; one thing Santana had noticed with Rachel's pregnancy was that she certainly had no loss of ardor, "Went better than it could have, right?"
"Right."
"Are you lying to make me feel better?"
In answer, Rachel covered Santana's lips with her own. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Santana kissed her back. "I know."
"Santana? This is a surprise."
"Yeah yeah. Look, Q, I have a favor to ask of you."
"Wow, I'm doing well. How about you?"
Santana rolled her eyes. Quinn could be such the priss. Trying not to stare at the backpack that held her extra Cheerio uniform and various outfits as well as her toiletries and teddy bear and a couple pictures of Rachel and the ultrasound just in case she would never be let back into her house, Santana smiled when Rachel leaned around her to grab Mr. Archie from where he was sticking out of the top. Taking the chance to drop a kiss on her head, she just smirked affectionately at Rachel's fake cross look.
"…Santana?"
Oh! Right. Santana cleared her throat. "That's great. I'm great. Rachel's great. We're all great."
Gently petting her arm before pulling her own plushie out of her own backpack, Rachel snuggled her side into Santana's, random bits of plushie fur brushing against her arm as the small girl did so. Since she and Rachel were outside at one of the roadside picnic tables that were technically part of the Lima Park, just next to Santana's car, the air was a little cool. Though, you know, it wasn't like Santana needed the excuse to be close to her girlfriend.
"Yeah… Sounds like a lot of great is going on. What's the favor? I am not going to talk to Sue for you. I may be her favorite, but even I wouldn't be so foolish as to – "
"No, no. This isn't about the Cheerios." Trying to cut the blonde off as quickly as she could, Santana blew air out of her mouth. Truthfully, she wasn't excited about what she was going to ask her. Because both she and Rachel knew Santana couldn't stay at Rachel's. Rachel's fathers liked Santana enough – just not enough to allow her sleep over (even if Santana had snuck in and out a number of times; sometimes Rachel's sound proofed room was a lure too good to pass up).
"Hmm." Sounding noncommittal, Santana could see the arched eyebrow expression Quinn was most likely sporting. "Then what is it?"
Better just get it over with. "You cool with letting me crash at your house for a couple of days?"
"What?"
"Your house. My body. A couple of days."
Rachel softly whacked her shoulder. "So romantic," she muttered, and Santana leaned down to kiss her solidly, very quickly slipping her tongue into the sweetness behind Rachel's lips. A low sound purring in the back of Rachel's throat, one of her hands snaked up to cradle the back of her head, pulling her closer. Barely paying enough attention to keep her phone in the general area of her ear, Santana moaned as the kiss deepened even more, Rachel's lips moving with hers, her tongue darting out to twine and tease Santana's.
"Oh god. Ew. Santana! Not in my ear!"
"Mmm… What?" Barely pulling back to angle the phone close enough so Quinn could hear her, Santana groaned and sucked in a breath when Rachel's teeth clamped down and tugged at her lower lip. Heat coiling in her stomach, she slid her free hand around Rachel's shoulders to tug the girl into her. Damn Quinn. Damn the stuffed animals pushed between them. Santana could never get enough of Rachel.
"I'm hanging up." Click.
Santana grinned. Blindly shoving her phone into her pocket, she used her newly freed hand to cup Rachel's face and quickly got down to some heavy duty mackin'. Because, fuck Quinn. She could always call her back. Right now, Santana had a girl to drag into her car and make the both of them very, very happy. After the day they'd had, neither deserved less.