"Okay, I have Marley, Ryder, Sue, Shelby, Cassie, Leroy, Bayani, Puck, Quinn, Artie, Brittany, Blaine, Kurt, Mr. Shue, Ms. Pillsbury, Finn, Tina, Sam, Mike and us down to decorate/donate rooms. Did I miss anyone?" Santana asked looking up from the legal pad that she held in front of her face. It had been a long and busy week trying to catch up with everyone to ask about the children's home, now Santana had to set up the meeting with Mrs. Stidham and the lawyers, she wanted to double check that she wasn't forgetting anyone.
"Mmm, I'm pretty sure that's everyone. Now the question is, will they have enough rooms." Rachel was bent over resting her head in her propped up hand on the counter.
"They are buying and remodeling a college campus, I am sure they will have plenty of rooms to go around. If and that's a big if, they run out of nurseries or dorms for us to decorate we can always help out with the classrooms they are setting up or just donate the money to other stuff they need. No matter what, we will have plenty to do. I just can't wait to get started." Santana grinned as she laid the legal pad down on the kitchen island.
Rachel smiled at Santana's excitement. She had seen Santana excited and bouncing off the walls happy, but it was always reserved for the most special occasions. It felt nice to be able to focus on this instead of everything that was currently going on with Jasper and the Porter's. Jasper was on the road to making a full recovery, as soon as he was discharged from the hospital he would be going straight to jail. After Sue had left last Sunday, Detective Beiste was able to somehow get the warrants they would need to search Jasper's apartment. Apparently they had found enough evidence to nail not only Jasper but Charles and Ronald both. They were now waiting on court dates to determine if a trial was going to be had. Hopefully it would be a cut and dry case. Rachel had determined that she would be happy if they could finally turn the page on that chapter of their lives.
In the past week, Santana had also consulted a therapist who was helping her work through her feelings. After only one session, Santana had realized she had a lot more to talk about than almost killing Jasper. It was tiring but it felt so good at the same time. Rachel had agreed that she would start seeing her therapist again considering this latest incident had awoken old feelings of panic about losing Santana. Both women knew they couldn't live their lives in constant states of anxiety, this would help them both in the present and the long run.
"Okay." Rachel looked over at the clock on the stove. "I have to go meet Quinn for some interviews now that all the singles are done. I don't think I will be gone all day, but if I think I will be later than usual I will call." Rachel grabbed her bag off the bar stool she was standing next to before she walked over to give Santana a good bye kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too. Have fun at your interviews." Santana replied before bringing her focus back to the list of people she needed to call today. She sighed, looking at her phone with disdain. This was not going to the fun part at all.
Santana sighed and rubbed her eyes as she hung up the phone. She was finally done calling everyone on her list including the lawyers and Mrs. Stidham. Now they had a meeting date to take care of all the paper work to volunteer and sort out who was going to do what. Glancing at the clock Santana realized she had been busy on the phone for nearly five hours. Jeez, where did the time go? Standing up, Santana stretched, grimacing when her bones made some very uncharacteristic noises. She needed a break before she started working on the paintings for the donation.
"Dax, Dahlia, let's go for a walk!" Santana clapped her hands to get the dogs attention. Both came bounding over to her, tongues hanging out wagging their tails happily. These two little monsters would be the perfect break, Santana smiled as she opened the front door, letting the dogs run out in front of her
Rachel smiled as she held the door open for Quinn as they exited one of the many radio studies that they had visited today. "Are we almost done?" Rachel asked with a minimal hint of a whine as her smile faded slightly.
"Yep." Quinn responded. "I know we have done a lot today, but the more we do now the less we have to do later while you record the album."
"We will have a bunch more to do after the album comes out though and if it does well then we will have to set up a tour and everything." Rachel said over her shoulder as she made her ways towards her car.
"That's true but that's not until at least the end of next year. This album isn't going to happen over night, some artists take years to put out albums." Quinn rubbed her stomach, Davis was very active today and liked to kick every time he heard Rachel's voice. It seems as if Davis had already picked his favorite aunt.
"I'm not some artists though and Puck isn't planning on taking years to do this album. We're aiming for a summer release date. Plus, I refuse to be on tour during Christmas. That's one holiday I won't compromise on. Santana and I love Christmas and with the addition of our wedding anniversary now going to be around the same time, December will be a no work month." Rachel put the keys into the ignition of her car and started it, turning the air conditioner on high so that the car could cool off.
"How is Santana? I haven't spoken to her since she called asking about the children's home." Quinn looked around Rachel's car. She loved this car with it's all black interior. If you looked close enough in direct sunlight it almost looked like a dark purple.
Rachel smiled at Quinn's question. It didn't matter how often Santana and Quinn bantered back and forth, when it came down to it, they were the best of friends and they truly cared about each other. "She's doing good. She's making calls today about the meeting, so I am sure she called Puck since she knew we were out together today. Therapy went well, but I can tell it's going to bring up a lot for her. Her parents never being around, losing her Abuelo, everything that happened with the Porter's. I know Santana doesn't like to talk about it, but she was a part of that just as much as I was."
"I've known Santana for years and to her that's your story to tell, not hers. She was there for everything that happened after, but because she wasn't there when it happened, she doesn't see herself as a part of it." Quinn mused.
"Sometimes...I don't think she sees how important she is or how much she actually does. I mean she is taking on this children's home project all by herself." Rachel slowly backed out of her parking space and headed towards her and Quinn's favorite lunch spot. "She's the one who is organizing everyone and getting the meeting together, she's doing all those paintings to donate and she's doing paintings for the production company. Plus, she wants to become a regular volunteer. If I know Santana like I think I do, two things are going to happen...she's going to start an organization that directly helps all children's homes and; now this is a big one that she and I should discuss..." Rachel trailed off as Quinn sat in anticipation.
"What is it? Because if it's what I think it is, then you should really consider how you feel about it." Quinn had a feeling she knew what Rachel was going to say, but she didn't want to be wrong in assuming.
"She's going to go in there and fall in love with those children and we will become foster parents." Rachel flexed her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited for Quinn to respond.
"I had a feeling that's what you were going to say. We both know that Santana likes to keep a guard up, but she's more empathetic than she realizes. While she has never been in the system she knows what it feels like to be alone and not have anyone to turn to or depend on. I guarantee that at least one of those babies is going to steal her heart, but Rachel are you ready for something like that? Is Santana ready for something like that?" This was a big decision that both women really needed to think about, heck they haven't talked about the very real reality of all of this. It was just a fleeting thought at the moment that could very well never happen, but in the off chance it did, they needed to be prepared. Quinn sat back and thought for a moment. "Wait is this something you really think will happen with Santana or is it something you want to happen?"
"I think it will happen with Santana and I maybe...want it to happen too. We talked about babies before we even got engaged, but it hasn't been mentioned anymore. I feel like this is a sign for us. I may not be the most religious person anymore, but I know that there is some higher power up there that is about to lead us to a child that needs us the most. Why else would there be such a strong pull to be involved with this opportunity?"
"You really think that this is a sign?" Quinn asked as she rested her elbow on the edge of the passenger car door.
"I really do." Rachel felt relieved that Quinn wasn't making a big deal out of this.
"Then I will support you and Santana one hundred percent, no matter what happens. If you two end up becoming foster parents, I will do everything in my power to help manage your time better so you won't have to be away as long. Just don't leave Santana in the dark about what you are thinking, you know she needs time to process even if she is already thinking of doing this herself." Quinn was truly happy for her best friends. After everything that had been going on in their lives they really needed this new chapter.
"Thank you and I plan on talking to Santana about this tonight." Rachel smiled as they pulled into the restaurant that she and Quinn always ate at when they were in St. Lawrence. Hopefully Santana was really on the same page as Rachel with all of this, I mean she was the one who mentioned babies before. The thought was slightly overwhelming but fascinating and joyful.
Santana laughed as she watched Dahlia drag a stick much too large for her. The silly blonde puppy was still learning the ins and outs of fetch, but slowly she was getting the hang of it. The only issue was that she wanted to play with sticks that were more Dax's size, not hers. Dax had lost interest in his stick and instead waited patiently for his master to throw his frisbee, it was his favorite toy after all.
They had been walking on one of the trails when they came across a small clearing and Santana decided to sit down and let the dogs play for a while. It was peaceful out here, no one could bother her and for a moment Santana could just simply enjoy being surrounded by nature. She took a deep breath clearing her head as she laid back in the soft grass. Dahlia had stopped dragging her stick and Dax was content to lay next to her chewing on his frisbee.
Crossing her arms behind her head, Santana let the warm sun beat down on her skin. There was a cool breeze blowing despite it being almost ninety degrees out. Everything in the moment felt still and quiet. Santana's mind swirled with thoughts about her life, she was happy and healthy with an amazing career and an amazing fiance'. Her dogs were perfect but she couldn't shake the feeling that something significant was missing. Santana just couldn't pin point exactly what it was..maybe it would come to her soon.