A/N: Well, this is it! It's been great writing this story, but it has come to end. As always, if you have any questions, let me know over at Tumbler on SeahorseSantana. I've loved all of your reviews and thank you for sticking with me for so long! I'd love if you all could check out my new story, Lilacs and Landmines! I hope you enjoy the epilogue!
"I told you half-a-dozen times to clean your rooms yesterday!" Santana yells, her voice booming through the house. They've all lived with her for practically a lifetime, but it's still surprising how much her "angry" voice carries.
"Ooh, Nico and Livi are in trouble!" August says to Brittany, blowing a little on his hot chocolate.
"Well, she did tell them, multiple times, to clean their rooms," Brittany says, glancing toward the ceiling.
"Trouble, trouble, Nico and Livi are in trouble," Amy sings into her hot chocolate. Brittany smirks as Santana walks into the room.
"I swear to God, Britt, those children are going to be the death of me," Santana says, pouring herself a cup of coffee. Brittany opens her mouth to respond, but she's interrupted by a groan and the kitchen door slamming.
"Mom, you're being totally unfair!" Olivia screams as she storms into the kitchen, Lola slowly following her. "Mom, tell Mom she's being totally unfair."
"Mama's been telling you to clean your room all week," Brittany says. She looks at her daughter pointedly. "Don't try to get me in the middle of this, Olivia."
"She took my iPad away! How am I supposed to talk to my friends, or see when Aunt Q is going to get here, or, or how am I supposed to do my homework?"
"If you really need to talk to Aunt Quinn you can use my phone, your friends can wait, it's your mother's birthday, and if you were going to do your homework on a Saturday morning for the first time since you entered Kindergarten, then I'm very sorry that I prevented that miracle from occurring. Now, go upstairs, Olivia." Brittany says. "I love you!" Brittany yells as Olivia huffs but turns on her heel back up to her room.
"Promise me you'll never be that mean to your Mama," Santana says, taking a seat next to Amy and ruffling her hair. Amy shakes her head, confused.
"You and Mommy are awesome! I would never be mean and yelly like Livi. She's a jerk anyway." Santana smiles and makes eye contact with Brittany over their youngest daughter's head. She kisses the part in her hair. "Is Sadie coming over today?"
"She is!" Brittany says, taking a sip of her own hot chocolate.
"Good, I have to show her this awesome new dance routine! I think we can use it when we sing in the Talent Show!"
"I'm sure Sadie will be super excited about that," Brittany says. "Do you want to show me in the studio later?" Brittany asks. Amy nods.
"I'm going to go warm up!" Amy squeals, jumping out of her chair. Brittany holds on to the hot chocolate to keep it from spilling over.
"Mama, is it okay if I go play with my Nintendo?" August asks.
"Of course," Santana says, "but remember, it's off once people start to arrive, Gus."
"I know, I know," he says, sliding out of his chair and running toward the basement. He stops in the doorway.
"CJ!" He yells. "CJ!"
"August, go upstairs to get your cousin," Santana says, staring at him with disbelief. "You're way too old for me to remind you about inside voices."
"Sorry, Mama," August says, running up the stairs.
It's suddenly very quiet in the room. It's so unusual these days that it feels like the silence takes over the space. Brittany moves over one chair so that she is sitting next to Santana.
"It's nice," Santana says.
"How do you know that's what I was thinking?" Brittany asks.
"I don't know," Santana says, resting her head on Brittany's shoulder. "Probably something to do with the 25 years or so we've been together."
"That must be it." Brittany says, sighing.
"Jesus, I'm old." Santana says. Brittany laughs and kisses Santana's temple.
"Happy Birthday, sweetheart."
"Wake up, girls!" Rachel sings as she walks down the hallway. "Rise and shine!"
"You know, they're going to kill you one day," Quinn says as Rachel enters the kitchen. "Trust me. I understand the Fabray genetic desire to murder an unstoppable, chronically singing, Rachel Berry."
"And I know the Fabray genetic propensity for adoring Rachel Berry and somehow finding her loudness endearing at all hours of the day." Quinn tries to conceal her smile as Rachel stands up on her toes to give her a peck on the lips. "I love when you make Soyrizo for breakfast."
"I know you do, sweetheart," Quinn says, smiling.
"I'm actually going to kill you, Rachel," Lily cuts them off, entering the kitchen in UCLA sweatpants, her blond hair up in a messy bun.
"You and me both," Hannah says, coming into the room behind her.
"You don't have to live with her anymore," Harper points out. "Although our six am elliptical training is really doing awesome things for my body…check out my abs," she says, lifting her shirt.
"See, I have my merits," Rachel says.
"I'm just so happy everyone is home," squeals a fully dressed Sadie. Her dark brown hair is pulled back with a red headband with a little bow in the corner. She sits down on Lily's lap. "I had the best idea for Aunt San's birthday! I've been arranging an Andrew's Sisters song for four instead of three! She'll love it. We're just like the Andrew's Sisters, minus the unfortunate estrangement of Patty and Maxine's struggle with depression."
"Are you sure she's nine?" Hannah asks, laughing.
"I ask myself that everyday," Harper says. "Again, you two are lucky you don't have to live here anymore."
"Do you want to go shopping for Aunt S before we head over?" Hannah asks Lily.
"Yeah, finals kicked my ass this semester. It was heinous. Truly, truly heinous. I had no time." She leans over Quinn, snatching bites of Soyrizo over her shoulder and ignoring her Mother's scolding.
"What about you, Harper?"
"No, told Aunt B I'd help her set up. We should be going over soon, right, Mom?" Quinn nods.
"What about you, Mama Rae? Think you can handle a little shopping spree with your favorite girls?" Lily asks.
"I guess…" Rachel says, grinning.
"It's settled then," Quinn says. "Sadie, Harper and I will go over now, and we'll meet you guys there at one."
"You guys have an hour!" Santana yells up the stairs. There is no response. "Do you hear me?" She yells again.
"You know, you may get a better response if you actually go up there," Brittany says, appearing in the doorway.
"I can't go up there, B," Santana says. "They'll just start yelling at me again, and I don't think my mid-forties heart can take it. I may just keel over and die of a heart attack from all that stress."
"I think you can risk it, honey." Brittany says, rolling her eyes.
Santana knocks gently on Olivia's door. There is no response so she knocks again, Santana sighs, mostly to herself, and then is embarrassed that she's feeling nervous in her own home with her own children.
"Livi? I'm going to come in," Santana says, her hand on the doorknob. There's still no response, so Santana gently turns the doorknob, allowing herself into Olivia's room. It's surprisingly clean, and Olivia is laying on her bed looking at her Kindle.
"Is everything okay?" Santana asks, her voice soft. Olivia doesn't respond. Santana sits down next to her on her daughter's bed. She's not sure what to say, so she just sits in silence.
"You know, I was just on the phone today because I wanted to invite Liam over for your birthday party," Olivia finally says.
"Who is Liam?" Santana asks, unable to keep the edge out of her voice.
"That's just the point, Mom! It doesn't matter who Liam is! What matters is you're having this stupid party and Nico is going to follow Harper around like a stupid puppy dog and Sadie and Amy are babies and Mom's going to spend all her time worrying about you and your going to spend all of your time worrying about CJ and it's going to suck for me! And Liam is like my best friend and I want him to come!"
"I thought Julie was your best friend."
"She's my friend, Mama, but Liam is like my best best friend and he's really nice and he plays guitar and soccer and he has really cute dimples."
Santana feels like the bile is rushing to her throat. Is this really happening right now? Is her baby girl really gushing about a boy's dimples? She knows what talking about dimples means. It means crushes and love and sex and all the other horrible things that come with being an adult.
Then she remembers. She remembers that they didn't have children to have eternal babies running around, that this is the inevitable day that her baby likes someone else and she is supposed to have helpful advice.
Her daughter is looking at her with wide, questioning eyes.
"You like him," Santana finally blurts out.
"Mom!" Olivia squeals.
"No, it's fine. You like him. You can borrow Mom's phone to invite him. No sex until you're married. And you need to talk to your mother about this."
"You are my mother."
"Your other mother. Today is my birthday, and I'm going to pretend you're still that tiny, innocent little infant I held in my arms the day you were born," Santana says, wrapping her arm a little too tightly around Olivia's shoulders.
"Ugh, Mama, let go. I have to go get Mom's phone."
Santana reluctantly releases Olivia, sighing deeply with a nervous smile. She stands in the hallway for a moment before approaching Nico's room. She rolls her shoulders back before braving whatever storm may be awaiting her in there and opens the door.
"I really think it would just be better if you let me drive," Rachel says. "You know, the vast majority of accidents take place with drivers under 25. You're easily distracted."
"You're a terrible driver, Mama Rae," Lily says. "Terrible."
"You're a really bad driver," Hannah adds. "And while I'm sure that in your head all you see is a couple of eight-year-olds driving, let me assure you that both of us are better drivers than you. We're native Angelenos after all."
"Honestly, Rae, I think that Sadie would probably be a better driver than you. And I doubt that her midget legs even reach the pedals."
"Don't call your sister a midget," Rachel warns, grasping tightly to her seat belt hook as Hannah makes a particularly sharp turn. "Why don't you two tell me about how school is going?"
"Horrible," Lily says.
"Terrible," Hannah says.
"Anything specifically?" Rachel asks.
"No," they both say in unison. Rachel rolls her eyes and grips the seat belt a little tighter.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Q, mini-Q, and the mini-Berry," Santana says, dragging a keg into the backyard.
"Ugh, I'm not a mini-her," Harper says, rolling her eyes. "You better be nicer to me if you want me to keep babysitting for you."
"We don't need babysitters anymore, anyway, Harper," Olivia says, looking up from Brittany's phone for the millisecond she needs to send a piercing glare in Harper's direction. "Nico and I are 14 now."
"Is that my phone?" Brittany asks Olivia. Olivia just looks up at her, her eyes wide. "Give that to me."
"You said I could use it," Olivia whines to Santana.
"I said you could use it to call Aunt Quinn. Who is here now," Brittany says, gesturing at Quinn. She holds out her hand for Olivia to return the phone. She slams it into Brittany's palms.
"Mama told me that I could use the phone to call Liam!" Olivia yells.
"I said that you could use the phone to call Liam once. You've invited him to the party, now hand the phone back to your mother."
"You guys just suck, you know that?" Olivia says, storming up the stairs.
"When will this end?" Santana asks Quinn, shaking her head. "How did you do this three times?"
"Well, when did you stop being a brat, Santana?" Quinn asks. Santana rolls her eyes.
"Point taken."
"Who is Liam?" Brittany asks no one in particular.
"You don't want to know," Santana says. Brittany raises her eyebrows at her. "I'll tell you later," Santana amends.
"God, 45 and still so whipped," Quinn says.
"I am not 45 yet, Fabray. Say it again, and I will cut you."
"So," Rachel starts, putting her best smile on. "What's going on with Hannah?" Lily rolls her eyes.
"She's trying on an ugly dress in that dressing room about six feet from us, Mama Rae. God, I think you're too young to be getting Alzheimer's already."
"You know what I mean, Lily."
"What's in it for me?"
"What do you mean?"
"You want me to dish on what's up Hannah's butt, I'm assuming there's something in it for me. Like….can I take the car to school with me next semester?"
"I'll talk about it with your mother."
"Really?" Lily asks, disbelieving.
"We were considering it anyway. Now, tell me what's going on with your sister."
"Ugh, it's boring lez-drama stuff. You guys should be pros at it, actually. She and Julie broke up and then Julie started dating Alisha and so Hannah freaked out and slept with that girl Madison, you know, the crush from Freshman year? But Madison was already dating Tanya and now she sees Julie and Alisha everywhere and she feels like their friends are all rubbing it in her face."
"I thought Alisha was straight."
"Everyone is straight until they're gay. You should know that, Mama Rae. Lord knows we watched your old L Word DVD's enough when we were kids."
"I can't believe you guys were watching those. Also, wasn't Julie kind of an ass?"
"Yeah," Lily says. "That's Hannah's type though.
"What's going on with you, Lil?"
"Nothing. I'm still with Michael. And I failed Spanish. Okay, Mama Rae! Gonna see if Hannah's done!" Lily runs off towards Hannah's dressing room.
"You're going to have to tell your mother!" Rachel yells. "Don't expect me to do it for you!" Her phone rings.
"Hey, Quinn."
"Hi, honey. What time are you going to make it over to Brittany and Santana's?"
"They're trying on clothes, so maybe in an hour."
"Aren't they supposed to be buying a gift for Santana?"
"They got sidetracked."
"Well, hurry them up, okay?"
"Of course. Hey, Q?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"Have I ever told you that having college aged children is just as stressful as teenagers, middle-schoolers, and children?"
"I know. What happened?"
"We'll talk about it later."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
"Mama, come play basketball with us!" August says, his hair sweaty and in his face. He nearly runs into Santana because he's running so fast.
"Go get your Mom, to play, you know I'm no good at basketball."
"That's why it's fun!" August says, stomping his foot. Santana rolls her eyes at him.
"You think Nico will play if I ask him?"
"I don't know, little man, but it can't hurt to ask," Santana says, ruffling his hair. Santana tunes out the adults as August runs over to his older brother, tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. At first Nico ignores him, preferring to continue his conversation with Harper—Harper is ruffling his hair and Santana can tell, despite his olive skin tone, that Nico is blushing. Finally her older son notices the younger, and the two run off to the driveway.
"Earth to Satan," Mercedes says, snapping her fingers in front of her face.
"Whatchu want from me, Wheezy?"
"Where you been, girl?"
"I've been right here," Santana says defensively. Mercedes gives her that look, that pointed, I know you've been sleeping with Brittany all day high school look that makes Santana roll her eyes harder.
"I don't know," Santana finally says, realizing her friends aren't going to let her let it go. "My kids are all over the place lately. Nico is girl-crazy, Olivia is boy-crazy, they're ignoring their little siblings and they're being assholes to me and Britt. I just don't know where they get it."
"Santana 'the boy is mine' Lopez doesn't get it. They're teenagers! They're your and Brittany's beautiful and handsome, popular, teenage kids."
"I think you once told me that I could have full access to the rambunctious twins who lived on your ribcage. You were two years older than your kids are now." Sam adds.
"She said that to you?" Mercedes asks, incredulous.
"She did. I mean, to be fair, it was during Santana's weird, sappy, lovesick with Brittany period."
"Is this when you two dated for a hot second? When she thought that charade of heterosexuality still was working for her?"
"Okay, enough reminiscing, Ebony and Gay Ivory. I thought we raised our kids to be different."
"Different from what? From every normal, hormonal teenager? They're good kids, Santana. They're going to lust after everyone they're attracted to, and they're going to hate you for putting boundaries in their lives. They're normal teenagers."
"I just wish they could be normal babies again. Should I go break up that conversation between Olivia and Liam," Santana asks.
"No!" Mercedes and Sam say at one. "Leave them alone, Santana."
"Fine." She says, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm drinking more. I'm going to get drunk, because I'm thirty and my kids are dating and I deserve it."
"Whatever you say, Santana," Mercedes says, laughing.
"What are you kids all doing out here?" Santana asks, her hands on her hips. She's tipsy and surprised to find all the children in the living room. "Shouldn't you be in the basement, avoiding the beautiful LA weather, or outside trying to sneak some beer?"
'"We found photo albums," Harper says.
"Oh, sweet Jesus," Santana replies. "Just what I need on my Thirtieth birthday."
"Forty-Second," Maria says. "Or is it Forty-Fourth. You're getting so old it's not even really worth counting anymore."
"Mama, who is this with you in this picture?" Olivia asks, looking up at Santana.
"That's Dave Karofsky. We were at our Junior Prom."
"I thought you went to prom with Mom," Nico says.
"Our Senior Prom. I went to Junior Prom with Dave and mom went to Junior Prom with Artie."
"Artie, Glee Club Artie?" Olivia asks.
"The very same. He was her boyfriend that year, even though I think they'd broken up by then."
"Was he always in a wheelchair?" Nico asks.
"No, but for as long as we knew him."
"Why'd they break up?"
"Because your mom came to your senses and realized that she'd rather be with me."
"Why are you all looking at pictures of Junior Prom?" Brittany asks, a little tipsy, her drink sloshing around in its cup. She sits on the ground next to Santana.
"The kids found the old photo album."
"God, you all have this picture. You guys have this picture hanging in the house and in this album. What is the big deal about this picture?" Hannah asks.
"It's when we won Nationals in our Glee Club," Rachel says.
"It's how we all know each other," Sam adds, smiling.
"It's a great picture." Santana says.
"Look," Lily says, "Mom and Mama Rae are gazing at each other. Like they were in love even then."
"They were totally weird and repressed." Santana says. "Although I'm not sure this is much better." She glares at Rachel sitting in Quinn's lap and then rolls her eyes when Quinn glares right back.
"And Aunt B and Aunt S are grossly all over each other, like usual," Harper says.
"Who is that girl with the dreads?" Olivia asks. All of the adults in the room burst out in laughter. Brittany wraps her arm around her daughter.
"You really are my child," Brittany says, "but please, please, be a little less like me in High School."
"You should all really be a little less like all of us in High School," Quinn adds.
"Yeah, mom," Lily says, "we already passed by your sixteen and pregnant pictures."
"Great," Quinn says.
"Do you ever think about Beth?" Hannah asks. Quinn and Puck make eye contact for a split second.
"Of course I do," Quinn says. Puck looks down into his drink. "But, of course, Beth is happy and living her life in New York, and that's the life that Uncle Noah and I wanted to give her.
"We have like a million siblings," Sadie says, unable to conceal the excitement in her voice. Quinn rolls her eyes again. "No! We totally do! I mean there's Lily and me and Harper and Hannah and Beth and JJ," Sadie says, gesturing over to Justin, holding his son Justin Jr. in his lap. "It's awesome. And Amy, August, Nico and Olivia are practically my siblings, too. It's a lot of siblings. Also, a lot of parents, which isn't so awesome."
Santana can't help laughing.
"It's strange, isn't it? That we all ended up together like this." Santana says, putting her arm around Lily.
"Strange, but kind of nice. Like when Sour Patch Kid sugar gets on your Red Vines. You don't expect it, but, somehow, it works."