Quinn smiled down at her daughter, squeezing Beth's tiny hand gently. "Are you having fun, honey?"

The smaller blonde nodded before pouting out her bottom lip slightly. "You know what would be more fun, Mommy?"

"What?" Quinn asked, smiling wider.

"A picture with Santa!" Beth exclaimed excitedly, pointing a tiny finger toward the center of the mall. The Mother followed her Daughter's gaze, a bit surprised by the fact that she had been able to see the photo op from so far away.

"Can we, can we?!"

"Of course! But we have to stay still so we don't hurt ourselves on the escalator, okay?"

"Okay." Beth said, immediately going serious and still. She remained that way until they were almost at the bottom and then she started to squirm again. As soon as the escalator came to the ground floor she lurched forward, tugging on Quinn's arm.

"Come on, Mommy!"

The two made their way through the crowded space and Quinn directed her daughter to the end of the line.

The older blonde's eyes peeked around the other parents and their children toward the large empty chair.

"What's wrong, Mommy?" Beth asked when she looked up and noticed her Mom's frown.

Quinn was about to answer when two men dressed as Elves emerged from the faux snow covered house. "I'm sorry kids, Santa is not feeling well and had to go back to the North Pole." The brunette Elf said, apologetically.

There was a group sound of disappointment and several parents moved to exit the line almost immediately.

"But," The blonde Elf said, speaking up in an attempt to keep people from leaving. "Mrs. Claus is more than happy to get her picture taken and pass on your gift ideas!"

Quinn glanced down toward Beth, ignoring the few people around them still leaving. "You want a picture with Mrs. Claus?"

"Yeah!" Beth said, jumping up and down excitedly.

Several minutes later, a woman emerged from the prop house in a more form fitting and feminine Santa outfit. It was a little short, in Quinn's opinion but Beth and the other children seemed excited.

Given how many people had abandoned the line and how quickly they were getting the pictures taken, it was Beth's turn in no time at all.

Quinn released her Daughter's hand, smiling as she watched the six year old run right up to Mrs. Claus. The women caught each others eyes before the brunette helped Beth onto her lap.

"Hello there and what's your name, Kiddo?"

"Beth!"

"Beth, alright, Beth... What do you want for Christmas?"

The little girl glanced toward her Mother before leaning in toward Mrs. Claus slightly. "It's a secret!"

"Hah, okay. I like you, kid. How about you whisper it in my ear?" She asked, leaning down a little more and turning her ear toward the child.

Beth hid her whispering behind her tiny hand and pulled away with a serious face when she was done.

Mrs. Claus glanced up toward Quinn, a surprised look on her face. She set Beth down gently from her lap, "I'll talk to Santa and we'll see what we can do."

Quinn stepped forward, mouthing a quick 'thank you' before taking Beth's hand and leading her toward the exit where they could purchase their picture.

"What did you ask for, sweetie?" Quinn asked, paying the blonde Elf with a smile and thanking him as he handed her the freshly printed image.

"Can't tell you, it's a secret!" Beth said, swinging her Mom's arm as the two held hands and headed back to finish their shopping.

xxx

"Thank you so much for coming in and saving our asses, Santana!" The blonde man said, smiling broadly as he removed his hat and Elven ears.

"No problem, Sam. But you two owe me, big time." Santana said, looking between her two roommates.

"I figured..." The other man mumbled, taking off his own hat and smoothing down his gelled hair.

"Oh, can it Blaine. Did you have any better ideas?" Sam asked, unbuttoning the shirt to his costume.

"If Kurt hadn't been in class, he would have done it without asking anything in return..."

"Yeah, right. I'm sure he'd love to waste his precious time in between NYADA classes to come down to the mall and dress up with you dorks."

The other brunette shot her a glare, "Oh, whatever. Don't tell me you weren't enjoying yourself. You had plenty of pretty women appreciative of your piss poor efforts with their children. If only they'd been able to hear what you were saying!"

Santana glanced toward her nails as if she was ignoring him and Blaine's features relaxed slightly. "You totally had the hots for that one Mom though, didn't you?"

"What, which one?" Santana asked, sounding a little shocked as she looked back toward him.

"The blonde one, with the cute little girl." Sam said, coming back into the conversation. "You were so much nicer to that kid... And for good reason, her Mom was a total MILF!"

"I'm going to tell Mercedes you said that." Blaine said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know what you idiots are talking about, there were plenty of blonde Mom's with cute little-"

"Are you blushing?" Blaine asked, his thick eyebrows rising in surprise.

"She's totally blushing, dude." Sam said with a chuckle and Santana narrowed her eyes glaring at both of them.

"Fuck you, I'll see you later. Have fun playing Santa and his tight ass little skanky Elf on your own." She muttered, immediately getting up from the couch to grab her coat and stalk toward the door.

"Why, thank you. I do have an adorably tight ass." Blaine said, smirking as he watched her storm out of their little dressing area and back into the mall.

xxx

Santana sighed, looking out over the few patrons that had decided to venture out in the snow to come in for a drink. It was Christmas Eve, so she wasn't really all that surprised. Most people were at home in bed or with their families.

She hadn't wanted to bother going the whole way home for just one day, given she was to work the Friday just after Christmas. So she'd offered herself up for a long and boring shift Christmas Eve knowing that it would be easy money.

The young woman kept herself busy cleaning glasses and occasionally talking to anyone who was up for conversation. The only other woman staffed in the bar that night was currently out on break and Santana was bored out of her mind. There were three men up at the bar, all too drunk now to have a decent conversation with and the other patrons had tucked themselves off in the furthest corners of the room.

Santana looked up, eyes moving for the door when it was pulled open. A feminine figure bundled up tightly in layers stumbled in from the cold and immediately headed for the bar.

Santana had watched her approach but turned away as the woman took a seat and began to strip off some of her layers. "Still nasty out there, huh?" She asked, over the music.

"Yeah... At least we'll have a white Christmas." Came the woman's soft reply.

Santana smiled and grabbed a glass, "So, what's your poison?" Just after the words left her lips her throat ran dry. The woman who had just come up to the bar had beautiful shoulder length blonde hair with a slight wave to it.

"Oh, weren't you at the mall the other week? Mrs. Claus, right?" She asked, a wide smile pulling at her lips.

Santana swallowed and could feel her cheeks heating up. "Uh, yeah... I was just doing a favor for my roommates... You know, the two idiots that had been dressed like Elves?"

"Well, thank you. My Daughter really appreciated it." The blonde said, her smile shrinking slightly. "My name's Quinn and I'll have... Whatever strong drink you can recommend." She said, glancing toward the bottles lining the wall behind the bartender.

"Name's Santana and alright. I think I've got just the thing..." The brunette turned, scooping up some ice for the bottom of the glass before grabbing several bottles. "So, where's your kid tonight?"

She wasn't really known for her subtly and the fact that this well dressed Mother of a young girl was out on Christmas Eve was sort of rubbing her the wrong way. Santana glanced up from what she was doing when Quinn didn't respond right away.

"She's... With her Dad, back in Ohio. I get her throughout most of the year because of school and he gets her for the Holidays..."

'Shit.' Santana thought, gritting her teeth as she realized that she'd judged too quickly. "I- I'm sorry, I'm sort of known for speaking before I think."

"It's okay. I'd probably wonder the same thing, if I were in your position..." Quinn said, glancing down as she trailed her index finger against the wood grain of the bar. The two were quiet for several minutes before Santana slid the tall glass over the wood and toward the other woman.

"Here, on the house."

"You don't have to-"

"Hey, do you see what it is like in here tonight?" The brunette asked, leaning on her arms slightly and nodding toward the rest of the bar. Quinn glanced around, taking in how little business they were getting at the moment. "They're paying me extra just to work this shift, so, as an apology for my slip up... Let me buy you a drink."

The blonde nodded with a sigh, lifting the glass to take an exploratory sip. "Mmm. This is good, very fruity but... Are you sure there's any alcohol in it?" She asked, arching a delicate brow.

Santana laughed and swept her towel over the bar where some condensation had built up on the wood. "Yes, I promise you there is."

Quinn shrugged and took a deeper sip, before smacking her lips and placing the drink back down. "What's it called, for future reference?"

"Love Potion... Nice and sweet but with a kick. Normally a good starter for someone who doesn't drink often."

"Am I that obvious?" The blonde asked, with a chuckle.

"A little, normally people order their familiars first... Move into the experimentation phase later, once they've got a few drinks in them."

Quinn smiled shyly, giving Santana a look that said she only half believed that before drinking more of the delicious fruity concoction. "So, why are you working on Christmas Eve? Don't you want to be home with your family, your boyfrien-"

"Woah now. Just because I work at Coyote Ugly doesn't mean I'm into boys, blondie." The brunette said, leaning on the bar again. "I'm single and my family lives out of state, didn't seem worth the trip when I could be making money, instead of spending it." She finished, with a shrug.

The blonde gave a slow nod, her eyebrows having shot up at the quick correction. "Don't you... Get a lot of unwanted attention, working at a place like this?"

Santana laughed, "Isn't that anywhere? At least they'll tip here, even more if they've copped a feel and appreciate a good slap upside the head. Besides, now they treat me like one of the guys anymore. Most of the regulars know."

Quinn frowned a little and swirled her drink before taking a gulp of it.

"Look, I know what you're thinking... But it's okay. I knew what it was going to be like when I started here, or honestly... Even when I looked into bartending." Santana confessed, "It's good money and I enjoy the job."

Quinn nodded, "Sorry... Look, now I'm the one judging."

Santana laughed, "Not really."

The two stared at each other a moment, completely comfortable in the silence. Santana felt her heart flutter as the woman glanced down at her lips before draining the rest of the liquid in her glass. "I think I'd like another one of these."

The brunette slid off of the bar and swiped Quinn's glass to pour her the remainder of the first batch of the drink. "Alright but you might want to drink the second one a little slower..."

Quinn chuckled and covered her smile with her hand, "Yes, I think that would probably be a good idea..."

The two talked for a while, Quinn only had one more round of the drink aptly called Love Potion before sobering up for closing time. And when the time came, she bundled herself back up and bid Santana a quick goodbye before heading back into the cold.

xxx

"So Quinn, what did you do for Christmas? Did you get to see your parents?"

"No, Rachel... I didn't." The blonde said, ignoring the gasp of surprise from her roommate.

"What?! Quinn... I thought you said that they invited you to come home, with Beth?" The brunette asked, joining her friend on the couch.

"They did, I just... I didn't feel like going." She glanced toward Kurt who was nearby in the kitchen and shifting uncomfortably on his feet.

"You sent Beth to Ohio by herself?" Rachel asked incredulously and Quinn rolled her eyes.

"No, she flew with Kurt both ways because he's amazing."

Kurt returned the grateful smile the blonde was giving him and did his best to not wilt under Rachel's glare as he joined the two of them in the living room.

"I feel so out of the loop! It would have been nice for one of you to tell me what was going on..."

"Rachel, you were upstate for most of the month! We didn't think it would matter..." Quinn groaned, rubbing at her temples.

"She's my Godchild! What if something would have happened to her? I'd never forgive myself..." The brunette frowned, realizing that Quinn had already gone back to her book and Kurt was looking at something on his phone. "Wait, you've used this, my protective feelings for your Daughter as a distraction! If you didn't go home, what did you do on Christmas?"

Kurt looked up from his phone, clearly interested in hearing the answer as well. Quinn sighed and closed her book, "I went to a bar."

"What?" The two brunettes asked in unison, both equally shocked by the blonde's admission.

"Are bars even open on Christmas?" Rachel asked, looking toward Kurt seeing as she wasn't an expert on the holiday.

"Well, not Christmas... Christmas I mostly spent sleeping and relaxing, I also Skyped with Beth when she got home from her visiting extended family. I went out to the bar Christmas Eve." Quinn corrected, as if it made this part of the conversation any more normal.

"But you hate bars." Kurt pointed out, placing his phone on the coffee table and getting more comfortable now that the conversation had shifted.

"I... I wasn't in a good place, okay? I just, I needed to not feel for a little while." Quinn admitted softly, avoiding her friends' worried gazes.

"Quinn... You should have called, I would have come home early." Rachel said, covering the blonde's hand with her own.

"It wasn't really so bad... The bartender was really cool and she made me this delicious drink, you two would love it!"

"What's it called?" Kurt asked and Rachel shot him a look, not liking that they were moving past Quinn's emotions so quickly.

"Love Potion, I didn't see what she put in it but it tasted amazing... And it still had enough alcohol in it to get you drunk."

"I don't like the idea of you spending Christmas alone in some seedy bar... Having a stranger make you a drink called 'love potion.' It sounds like an alias for a drink containing a date rape drug." Rachel said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Actually... I kind of knew her."

"You what?" Kurt and Rachel asked at the same time.

"Do you remember the story about that Mrs. Claus the other week?" Quinn asked, trying her best to fight the smile that was threatening to pull at her lips just thinking about Santana.

"Oh, yes... The one you thought was attractive." Rachel said, the tension in her body relaxing slightly.

"Wait, what?" Kurt asked, looking between the two of them.

"Oh yes, she didn't tell you that part?" The other brunette asked, a sneaky smile twisting the corner of her mouth.

"She seemed to forget to tell me the entire story, which mall?" Kurt asked, narrowing his eyes at his friend. She had barely gotten out her response when the man busted into a loud full on laugh. "Do you remember the brunette Elf? Shorter, a little more stocky?"

"Yes?" Quinn asked, looking a bit surprised.

"That's Blaine, the guy you two have been hearing about." Kurt admitted after his laughter had calmed a little.

"Oh, Kurt! He's adorable! And he knows Santana... What a small world!" Quinn said, utterly amused by the fact that she had met her friend's new boyfriend without even realizing it.

"They're roommates, I've met her a few times... She's single and I hear she likes blondes." He said, leaning his chin on his palm and wiggling his eyebrows. "Please tell me you left her your number on a napkin or something."

"No... I didn't." Quinn said, moving his eyes away from Kurt's.

"Why not? You're into her, aren't you? What if I hadn't known her, were you just going to go back to that bar and get drunk again?" He asked, a little amused.

"Maybe." Quinn mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest to mirror Rachel's earlier posture.

"Well, if you do... Ask her out this time. Or I'll do it for you." He warned, jumping out of the chair he'd been sitting in and swiping up his phone before heading toward his room.

"You wouldn't dare!" Quinn called after him, twisting around to glare at him over the back of the couch.

"If he doesn't, I will." Rachel said, smiling as she slipped off of the couch to head to her room as well.

"You're both traitors!" Quinn called after them, her cheeks flushed a shade darker than normal as she went back to her book.

xxx

Quinn shivered, shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her winter coat as she walked down the street toward the restaurant Rachel and Kurt had asked her too meet up with them at. Apparently they'd nailed their performances at NYADA and wanted to celebrate. It wasn't exactly a new practice for the two but given all three of them would be out, Quinn had to scramble a bit to find a babysitter.

Luckily, a friend from school had been looking for a little extra cash and had offered to do it after seeing the blonde's post on Facebook. Beth had been a little disappointed that she couldn't tag along but Rachel and Kurt had both warned Quinn that they planned on having her drink, after her bringing her trip to a bar up not even a week before.

The blonde sighed in relief as she stepped inside from the cold, instantly feeling the warmth of the building. A man just inside offered to take her coat for her and the blonde blushed, not expecting such a fancy place. Once he'd gotten her coat on the hanger, he pulled a strip of paper from his pocket and jotted down the number on the hanger. "Just hand this to whoever is here when you go to leave, I do hope that you enjoy your meal."

"T-thank you." Quinn said, smiling at the man before turning and heading toward the front counter as he moved on to the group that had come in behind her.

"Hello, name please?" The woman behind the computer asked, not nearly as friendly as the man the blonde had just been talking to.

"I believe the reservation is under the last name Hummel." Quinn said, a little quietly. She watched as the woman entered the name, clicking a few times before nodding toward the waitress standing nearby. "Tina will direct you to your table, I do hope you enjoy your meal."

Quinn followed the woman back into the main room of the restaurant and was immediately blown away by the large space and its high ceiling. She was almost too busy taking in the grandeur to notice that she was passing her friends at a table. If it weren't for a hand skimming her forearm, she would have been completely oblivious to their presence.

"Have fun." Kurt said with a wink and Quinn nearly stopped in her tracks.

"What?" Her eyes found Rachel's and the other woman was grinning from ear to ear, that much was obvious even though she had her hands over her mouth.

"Are you coming, Miss?" The waitress asked, Quinn shot her friends one more look before following the other woman into a smaller and more private side room. The lights were dimmer here and there was a large marble fireplace built in into the wall across from the doorway.

Quinn wasn't as distracted by the decor and architecture this time, however and it didn't take her long to spot the table they were headed for. Her mouth went dry as she noticed a brunette in a red dress seated alone at a table in the corner. They were almost there when Santana turned, her eyes widening when they fell on Quinn.

The blonde took the seat across from Santana and the two remained silent as Tina placed their menus down on the table in front of them, "Can I start you off with something to drink?"

They ordered quickly, both opting for a simple water with lemon before the waitress left them to fill the order.

"Hi." Santana said, arching a brow and folding her arms on the table. "Is this a set up? Because it feels like a set up..."

"It is." Quinn said, dropping her gaze. "Apparently... One of my roommates is dating one of yours."

"That figures. I was wondering why you would be coming to a table that had been reserved under the last name Hummel... Huh, small world." The brunette said, smiling as she took in the blush that was making its way across Quinn's features.

"Yeah... I'm sorry. My friends are... They don't really know boundaries."

Santana's smile widened, "They sound like my kind of people."

Quinn blinked and narrowed her eyes before tilting her head at the other woman. "So... Do you just want to go with it then?"

"Why not? I mean... This normally isn't how I pick up women, I'd like to think that I've got more game than that but... I like you. And your daughter is cute, too."

Quinn's heart fluttered in her chest and she couldn't help but smile. "We're going to have to figure out a way to explain to her why Mrs. Claus isn't in the North Pole."

Santana shrugged, "We'll just say that it's her Christmas wish coming true."

"She never told me what that was..." The blonde said, her smile falling slightly as a look of curiosity took its place.

"Well, I'd tell you... But then we'd risk it not coming true." Santana said, the blonde was about to push the subject when Tina returned with their drinks.

Quinn watched as Santana explained that they hadn't had a chance to look at the menu yet but that they could figure it out quickly. Although she was extremely curious about her daughter's wish she decided to drop the subject and opened up the menu.

She was going to have a talk with Rachel and Kurt later but for now, she was just going to enjoy her date.

xxx

"It's a secret!"

"Hah, okay. I like you, kid. How about you whisper it in my ear?" Santana asked, leaning down a little more and turning her ear toward the child.

"I want Mommy to stop crying when she thinks I'm sleeping... I want her to be happy."

x