"Santana, how do you know my mommy?" Val asked, raising an eyebrow as he stared the black-haired woman down intensely, moving closer to where she was perched on the other end of his mom's turquoise couch. The woman flinched when he asked this, visibly surprised but then that serious look returned to her face and she refused to meet his eyes. She was always so grumpy and she tried to be scary.

"Um it's… a long story. You wouldn't want to… Look, Buddy, I don't think we should talk about that right now."

"How come you're staying here with us in our apartment?" He demanded, frowning deeply. Santana fell silent, clearly not knowing what to say and obviously uncomfortable as he pouted at her. "Don't you have anywhere else to go?"

Santana narrowed her eyes and her mouth twisted as if she wanted to snap at him but then she huffed and seemed to think better of it. He saw her take a deep breath and close her eyes for a few seconds. It seemed like he was getting to her, so that meant he was winning for sure.

"Of course I do, Kid."

"Why is your name Santana?"

"It just is. Why's your name Valentino Pierce?"

"Why do you wear all that black?"

"It looks cool."

"Why do you have a fancy car?"

"I like it like that."

"What are you going to do to my Mommy?!" He finally asked or rather yelled at her, giving her a sharp look and climbing over so he was staring right into her face. "I won't let you hurt her, so just watch your back, Demon Lady!"

Santana's eyes went wide and she was silent, as if she didn't know what to say. Just then, Mommy returned to the room with ice cream for them, which cheered him up a little but he pouted at the way she began to share hers with the Devil on the other end of the couch, even feeding her from her spoon. Santana still seemed freaked out by all of his questions, he noticed.

"Aw, what's up, you two? Have you been interrogating Santana, Kitten?" Mommy laughed, ruffling his hair as she sat down beside her. Santana still looked nervous, squirming when Mommy smirked at her. "You're pretty awkward with kids. He's running rings around you. It's pretty funny to watch someone managing to fluster Ms. Serious so easily."

"I haven't exactly had any experience with kids," Santana shared a look with Mommy and Val raised an eyebrow when he noticed the way his mom's face fell while the black-haired woman looked apologetic as if they were both thinking about something completely different. "I mean, sorry, I shouldn't have said that, Britt. I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay. I know what you meant."

"Mommy, this movie is making me sleepy. Can we watch Finding Nemo again?" Val piped up when he noticed Santana paying attention to some boring movie she was watching. "Or The Lion King? Those are my two favourite movies in the universe!"

"They're the best ones ever." Mommy agreed as he thought she would.

Santana frowned, as if she didn't like those movies too much but didn't say anything. Val smiled broadly, liking the fact that he was getting his way and annoying Santana at the same time. The Devil Woman seemed surprised when he pushed in between her and the other woman, sitting between them and ensuring Mommy was kept far away from the enemy.

"So can we watch Finding Nemo now?"

"Of course, Kitten. Anything you want," Mommy leaned over to wipe his mouth with a napkin. "You've got ice cream all over your face somehow. Even on your forehead."

Mommy put on Finding Nemo for him and they watched that in silence, except for him shrieking constantly and laughing loudly, which seemed to make Santana jump and look annoyed everytime he did it, so it was an added bonus. Then she gave Mommy a look of panic when the movie finished and he begged to watch it again but of course she couldn't do anything about it since he was the man of the house and he got whatever he wanted, so there.

Just then a while later when Val was shrieking with laughter and Mommy giggled along with him at something Dory said, Santana practically jumped up off of the couch. The black-haired woman shrieked when she looked at her clothes and noticed the chocolate ice cream that was sticking to them.

"Britt! He- he… melted ice cream on my-" Santana was so disturbed that she couldn't seem to get the words out even. She looked over at Val in horror.

"Oh San, I'm sorry! Uh oh, he really got it all over your white shirt. Don't worry, I'll wash that for you and get the stains right out."

Santana's eyebrows shot up and she made a weird, surprised noise that sounded like a cat as Mommy helped her take off her shirt.

"W-what are you doing, Britt?"

"You look like you need some help."

Val frowned when Mommy kept staring at Santana who was now shirtless in just a bra and attempting to cover herself with a cushion. Mommy had a strange look in her fluttery blue cat eyes when she looked at Santana in her bra that the boy didn't trust… he had seen it before when she saw people she thought were handsome or pretty but this was a whole new level of interest from her.

Val giggled loudly at Santana's panicked expression and she turned to glare at him weakly now. He stuck out his tongue at her until Mommy returned from her bedroom. She handed Santana a bright pink tank top with white cats on it that the black-haired woman stared at for a million years as if she didn't know what to do with it. Then she shivered and practically fell over when his mom began to help her put it on. Mommy squealed, clasping her hands when she saw Santana in that shirt.

"You look adorable!"

"Thanks for lending me but it's not exactly my aesthetic, Britt," Santana mumbled in a whiny tone. "Pink and cats… "

"What's wrong with Mommy's shirt?" Val demanded, squaring his shoulders. "Her shirt is really cool! Cats and pink are the best! What's the big deal, it's not as if a monster's going to eat you!"

"N-nothing's wrong with it."

"Shh, it's alright, Kitten," His mom told him softly, giggling at the look on Santana's face. "Let's just watch the movie, okay?"

He saw the demon looking in Mommy's direction for a moment too long with a lovesick look in her black eyes, attempting to sneakily put her arm on the back of the couch so she could wrap it around Mommy's shoulders. How dare she! Val knew that move, as so many Mommy Stealers of the past had tried to do the same thing. He quickly hugged his mom instead, pulling her close to him and narrowing his eyes at Santana. Mommy laughed at this and Santana's jaw dropped, tilting her head to the side in confusion as if she wasn't sure what just happened.

"You can't steal her! She's my mommy!" He informed Santana loudly, baring his teeth at her. Mommy had another fit of giggles at this, picking him up and sitting him on her lap as she leaned down and kissed the back of his head softly, telling him how precious he was. He wrapped his legs around her, nuzzling into her neck and growling in Santana's direction.

"Hm." Santana grunted and he was frustrated by her lack of response.

"Sweetie, don't worry. Santana won't steal me away from you. You're the cutest."

Val was pretty pleased with himself after that as Santana was left in the corner while he had Mommy all to himself and she made a huge fuss out of him. Lord Tubbington even came into the room and climbed onto the couch between him and Santana, which seemed to make Santana even more scared but Val only shouted happily, pulling the big tabby close so he was in between himself and the demonic woman. Santana flinched when Lord Tubbington began to knead her legs with his sharp claws and rub grey fur all over her.

"Mommy, I think we need to watch Finding Nemo again!" He declared when the movie finished again for the third time and he had recited all of his favourite lines at full volume, jumping up and down on the couch. He scarfed down handfuls of popcorn and candy, smiling to himself when Santana winced as she got covered in a lot of it. "Santana needs to watch it again!"

"Four times, huh?" Mommy chuckled, kissing his cheek. "I don't see why not, especially since it's the greatest movie of all time. You don't mind, do you, Santana?"

Santana looked like she was about to pass out, sinking into her end of the couch, her eyes full of alarm and her hair sticking up at various angles. There was grey fur all over her tight pants now, thanks to Lord Tubbington.

"Um, sure, Britt. N-no problem."

"Someone looks a little overwhelmed," Mommy chuckled, giving Santana one of those strange smiles that Val didn't like. She put Val down and slid over to Santana's end of the couch, kissing that demonic Mommy Stealer on the cheek, much to his horror. Santana's face turned red. "I know this is a lot for you to handle and you're so cute when you're all flustered."

"Britt… "

"Mommy, don't kiss her!" Val shrieked, melting down a little.

"Aw, sorry, Sweetie. She really needed a kiss for her own good. You can have one too," Mommy laughed, her voice calm as she leaned over to his side and gave him one as well, even though he pouted at her and tried to give her the cold shoulder. "You really don't like sharing Mommy with anyone else, do you?"

"No! My mommy!"

"Kitten, why don't you show Santana how you sing? She'd love to hear you."

"Okay!" He brightened up at that, going to stand in front of Santana and singing at full volume. He sang his favourite songs from The Lion King at her as loud as he could and Mommy clapped for him when he was done. For some reason, Santana smiled at him in a way he didn't think the Demon Woman was capable of, even though she seemed alarmed at first when he was singing at her.

"He's so talented, Britt. He's a natural singer," She told Mommy and then she looked at him again with those weirdly gentle black eyes. "You sang those so well."

For some reason it felt really amazing to hear that and see the proud look on her face, even though he wanted to not care about anything the Mommy Stealer had to say.

"Mommy plays Songbird for me and we sing it together a lot!" He told her excitedly. Santana turned her head sharply to stare into Mommy's eyes when he said this. Val gasped, covering his mouth with his hand as he realized maybe he said something bad or not allowed because of how they reacted. Mommy's smile dropped and she said she needed to wash the dishes, so she slipped away before Santana could finish asking her question.

Val pouted again, folding his arms over his chest as he jumped onto the couch and he didn't understand why Santana was watching him the whole time with that same weird look on her face that he couldn't figure out. She kept watching him for most of the day whenever she thought he wasn't looking and he couldn't figure out what her deal was.

"I don't need to go to bed!"

"I know but you're really sleepy, Kitten," Mommy whispered to him, picking him up as Santana stood by uncomfortably while he screamed a few times about how he was never going to bed. He was embarrassed about having to be put to bed earlier than the adults when Santana was there but he couldn't stop yawning. "You just had your bath, now let's put on your jammies. Even Lord Tubbington went to bed already and you can barely get your eyes open. Don't you want to have sweet dreams about unicorns and kittens?"

Val was still furious when Mommy read him his bedtime story that night even though it was a really good one and he knew Santana was still out there somewhere in their apartment, no doubt planning to kiss Mommy later that night like the evil beast she was. He didn't trust her. The dark-haired boy had already put his plan in motion and he thought about his schemes that night when Mommy tucked him into bed. He was going to chase Santana away just like he had all of the others, no matter what it took. He smirked when he heard a woman's scream and the sound of Santana running out into the corridor.

"Santana? What happened?" Mommy's voice rang out. "Are you okay?"

"A mouse! Brittany there's a mouse in my shoe! This cannot get any worse!"

Santana sounded like she was practically about to cry, so Val supposed his prank had been incredibly successful.

"Uh oh… I think I know what happened here. They do this all the time."

"They?! Who's they? Don't tell me the mice in your apartment formed a gang and are plotting against me now."

"Not really… at least not that I know of. This is the work of my two sons, of course. Lord Tubbington taught his little brother all the tricks of the trade."

"I'm sure that's very wonderful for them but Brittany I have vermin on my clothes! How are you not freaking out?" She screamed as he heard Mommy saying all these things to calm her down. "I think I'm going to die!"

"It's alright, Santana, I'll handle this."

Mommy came into his room not long after that and he gulped, knowing he was in trouble. She sat next to him on the bed quietly and he pretended to be asleep, curling up into a ball.

"I know you're awake. Kitten, why did you do that to Santana?" She asked in a calm but disappointed tone. "It scared her and she didn't really like it."

"I don't know. Whatever it was, it wasn't me!" He insisted, "I didn't put a mouse there! I mean - I didn't do it!"

Mommy sighed and he could tell by the look in her eyes that she didn't believe a word of that. She knew him too well, sometimes it was like she could read his mind.

Then they both perked up at the sound of Santana yelling something again in a terrified, high-pitched voice about how she stepped on the mouse and it was everywhere. He giggled at that before he could help it and cupped his hand over his mouth. Mommy gave him a look that meant she was going to be bringing this up with him later before running out to help Santana.

Later that night, he ran into the living room and scowled when he saw Santana sitting all close with his mom on the couch. Way too close. Mommy was even cuddling with her as they watched their boring grown up TV shows! This was an outrage. He thought for sure she would have left after she found the mouse but for some reason that hadn't been enough to scare her off. Santana seemed surprised that he was out of bed and Mommy raised an eyebrow as he stood in front of them in his tiger striped pajamas, holding his stuffed cat as he tried to get their attention.

"Mommy, I can't sleep." He pushed in between the two of them, wrapping his arms around his mom and kicked Santana when his mom wasn't looking.

"Hey!" She yelped, her dark eyes widening. Mommy didn't realize any of that was going on.

"What's up, Angel?"

"I'm thirsty, Mommy. Can I please have some water?" He asked sweetly.

"Sure, Baby," She turned to Santana. "San, could you pour some for him while I fold these clothes? You know where everything is, right?"

"Um, yeah sure."

He pouted as Santana walked with him into their very brightly coloured kitchen. He didn't understand why she always seemed so nervous around him but then again he was pretty tough, so she should be. The walls were yellow and everything his mother had was pink, purple, or turquoise. She poured him a huge glass and he glared at her the whole time he drank it. He was so focused on her that the glass slipped out of his hand.

"Oh no!" He cried, starting to sob when the glass shattered into many pieces and there was a pool of water on the floor. Tears began to slide down his cheeks because he was so shocked and felt guilty about what he had done. Santana's face paled and she didn't seem to know how to handle this but she picked him up and pulled him away from the glass. She looked on helplessly as he began to cry.

"Val, don't walk there. You'll hurt yourself."

He looked up at Santana's scared looking face as he cried on her and although he didn't want her to hold him, he felt safe somehow now that she had him. She even rubbed his back and he fell silent. None of the Mommy Stealers of the past had ever made him feel protected or like they actually cared about him at all the way Santana seemed to. Still, he wanted his mom.

"I want my mommy!"

"What happened?" Mommy ran into the kitchen as soon as she heard his scream then she saw Santana standing over the broken glass and holding him up in her arms. "Oh. It's okay, Kitten. It was just an accident. I'll tuck you back in bed and clean it all up, okay?"

"Okay."

He nodded and Mommy took his hand, kissing him as she put him back into bed. He kept tossing and turning, thinking about how he needed to protect his mom. Lord Tubbington had come to lay on the foot of his bed, curled up into a ball and Val told him all about his plans to scare Santana away. Lord Tubbington meowed in agreement of course but he got a little annoyed when Val jumped out of bed again later, jostling him and waking him up from his cat nap. He leaned in against the wall in the corridor, listening in on their conversation.

"Britt, I missed being with you like this so much."

"Me too."

"You look so beautiful right now."

"Mommy, no!" The boy shrieked when he walked into the living room just in time to see Santana lean in to kiss his mom on the lips again. The adults were still on the couch, huddled close together and that woman even had her arm around his mom's shoulders. It was his worst nightmare. "No, no, no!"

"Oh, Sweetie, don't cry!"

He heard Santana sigh heavily as Mommy pulled away from her to go to him and it was clear that she wasn't going to be getting anymore kisses or cuddles.

"Oh Dear, someone's overtired and having a little meltdown. Kitten, let's get to Mommy's big bed. I'll sing you a lullaby, okay?" He smirked smugly over mommy's shoulder at Santana as the blonde woman took him back to her room instead as she sometimes did when he had trouble falling asleep. At least he'd been able to break them up for now. "Santana, I have to be with him- he needs me. You're comfortable with the couch, right? I left a pillow and blanket."

"It's fine, I understand. Don't worry about me, Britt."

Ha, take that... he thought. He'd find a way to chase that Santana away. How dare she kiss his mom!