"What….what…?" Santana whined, sitting up in bed. "There's no school today I swear it's Saturday"
The door opened, revealing Sophia already dressed. Santana frowned.
"Hey Soph."
"Morning mami."
Santana stifled a yawn. "What are you doing up?"
"Mama said I could go on the trip to the museum."
Santana gently shoved Brittany to wake her.
"Mhh…" Brittany stretched, cracking an eye open. "What's up?"
"Sophia. She said you told her she could go on a trip?"
"Yeah" Brittany shifted, her eyes falling shut.
"It's today mama"
Brittany lifted her head. "It's today?" Sophia nodded. "What time is it?"
"9"
"What time is the trip?" Santana asked.
"10:15"
"Okay" Brittany exhaled and sat up. "I'll get ready to take you."
Sophia grinned. "Thank you"
"Are we picking you up too?"
"Yes. At 2, unless I call you earlier."
"So you're going to need a phone." Santana thought out loud. Sophia nodded again.
"Okay, we'll sort it out honey." Brittany said.
"Okay." Sophia walked to the door, paused before opening it. "Um…10:15 is like…when the tour starts mama, and the museum is further than school, so…"
"We'll be on time Soph don't worry."
Sophia nodded but still didn't open the door.
"It's just that all my friends are going too, and we said we'd get there early. I thought mami was gonna take me…."
Santana burst out laughing, kicking off the covers.
"Hey wait!" Brittany jumped out of bed too. "Are you saying you don't want me to take you?"
"She's saying you're always late, and she doesn't want to be late today." Santana said, still laughing.
"I can be on time!" Brittany ran to the bathroom, holding out a hand to stop an advancing Santana. Santana stopped, a huge amused smile on her face. She and Sophia rose doubtful eyebrows. "Sophia" Brittany said, "I'm taking you. We're leaving at 9:30."
With one last look at Santana, Sophia nodded.
"Okay."
She left the room.
Chuckling as Brittany pointed to her, Santana held her hands up and crawled back into bed.
"It's not like I want to drive all that way. I'd be happy to sleep in like I'd planned."
"Yeah and you will. You will, because I am going to be on time. SOPHIA CAN SUCK IT." Brittany yelled as she walked fully into the bathroom and out of Santana's sight.
Settling into bed, Santana wrapped her arms around her pillow, securing it under her head.
"That's your daughter, and she's nine."
Brittany didn't hear her.
Santana stood at the bottom of the stairs, car keys in one hand and Mateo's uncast hand in the other. She was standing beside Sophia, who had her signature small bag with her name on it on her back.
"Mami, it's 9:42."
"She can be ten minutes late babe, you won't die."
"What is she even doing?"
That was a good question, Santana thought. Brittany had gotten out of the shower nearly twenty minutes ago, at which point Santana had already changed. She wasn't actually sure what was taking her so long to come down.
"Can we leave at 9:45?"
"Soph honey, I've been to the museum, it's going to take us thirty, maybe thirty five minutes to get there if there's traffic."
"But I told you, I don't want to get there exactly at-"
"I'm ready!"
Brittany came running down the stairs with her handbag swinging wildly. She jumped the last three steps and landed in front of Santana.
"Yaaaay" Mateo cheered. He held out a hand for a high five, which Brittany gladly slapped. The two of them then began doing a celebration dance, which really was the chicken dance that Mateo had been obsessed with since Ashley showed it to him.
Sophia and Santana watched them, giggling.
"I'm here" Brittany said, slightly out of breath. "And you can suck it" she grinned at Sophia.
"You're late."
"But it's not ten yet, and you're not late yet, so technically I am on time."
"Let's just go" Sophia laughed.
"Are you coming with bud?" Brittany asked Mateo.
"Yeah. I was gonna go with mami but I can go with you too."
"Well thanks" Brittany laughed. Santana handed over his bag.
"Have fun baby" she called to Sophia, who was already out the door and halfway to the car. Sophia turned and waved.
"Alright" Brittany kissed Santana's lips. "See you later babe."
Santana waved them both to the car, then shut the door.
"BOYS"
"YEAH"
The shout came from much closer than Santana had been expecting. She walked to the toy room, which held practically every toy any of the kids had that they didn't use enough to be in their rooms, some of which had been around for years, and found the twins siting cross legged on the floor playing snakes and ladders. It made her smile.
"What are you guys doing?"
"We were looking for something, but then we found this" Kyler told her.
"Kyler said I always used to lose at this game, and I said that's not true."
"So we decided to play and find out."
"Can I join?"
"Yeah" they both said. Jesus moved all their pieces back to the beginning and reset the game.
"Did mama make it on time?" he asked, giggling.
"Not if you ask Sophia, but she did really well. Less than fifteen minutes late."
"Hey not bad" Kyler said. He threw the dice and rolled. "Mum you'll go after me."
"Okay."
"Also, after we finish, can you repaint my toenail?"
"Sure"
"Wait what?" Jesus asked, as Santana rolled. "Since when do you paint your nails?"
"Only one, and it's on my toe."
"But since when…" Jesus looked down at Kyler's foot, his eyes widening as he saw the blue.
"Since the day before yesterday. Mama did it for me after she picked me up from school."
"Dude" Jesus laughed. "Nail polish is for girls." He rolled next.
"So is long hair…or that's what they say. That's what mama said."
Jesus cocked his head.
"He's got you there" Santana chuckled. "You shouldn't really care about what other people think anyway though. I always tell you this. The only thing you should think about before you do or wear or listen to something, is if you like it and if it'll make you happy. If the answer is yes, screw everyone else."
"Mum" Jesus giggled.
"What?"
"You said a bad word."
"Don't worry, we won't tell mama."
"You guys aren't old enough to hear the word screw used in a sentence that's not tool related?"
Kyler shook his head, handing her the dice.
"Oh…well…forget them then."
The twins laughed.
An hour later, when Brittany and Mateo were back, everyone was in the living room, kind of but not really watching tv. Jesus was playing tag with Mateo and Santana was repainting Kyler's toe.
"Will you do the other side as well?"
"Sure babe"
"So what's the plan today boys?" Brittany asked.
"Nicholi said he was gonna come over after lunch. He said he'd ask his dad if he can sleep over but he didn't tell me if he said yes."
"Mmh" Santana hummed. "Don't you think you should have told us?"
"Told you what?"
"That you wanted Nicholi to come over" Santana laughed. Kyler frowned.
"It's Nicholi."
Brittany and Santana grinned at each other.
"What about you Jesus?"
Jesus shrugged, stopping in front of him and letting Mateo crash into him.
"I don't know. Maybe play some video games."
"Busy day then" Brittany laughed.
"Any plans babe?" Santana asked.
"Nope. Whatever you're doing."
Smiling, Santana stood up.
"That's good. So Q can come over?"
"Yeah" Brittany shrugged. "Oh…tell her to bring us some food."
"I don't think she's at Elyse today" Santana said. She left to get her phone from upstairs.
"If Tia is coming with some food, can she bring me a burrito? The one with the bean sauce?" Jesus asked.
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind. We can just ask her when mami calls her."
Santana walked back already talking on the phone.
"Talk to her" she handed the phone to Brittany. As Brittany talked, she sat down next to Jesus, who was now sitting cross legged on the couch. "You okay amor?"
"Yeah. I'm just a little tired."
"Look at me." His cheeks were pink and his eyes looked drowsy. "Are you feeling sick?"
"No…just tired."
"Okay."
Deciding to be safe, she got him glass of water and put in one of the effervescent kids' vitamin C tablets.
"Drink this babe, just in case you are getting sick."
Jesus took it without complaint.
"Okay." Brittany said. "Tia said she's not at the restaurant, but she's happy to pass by there to get you guys whatever you want."
"Yes!" Kyler cheered. "Tell her I want a chicken and cheese quesadilla with the guacamole dip and sour cream on the side. I don't like it inside the way the chef puts it."
"I want a burger" Mateo said. When Brittany nodded that she'd heard, he ran out to the trampoline.
"I'll text her. What do you want Santana?"
"You're texting her now?"
"Yeah. She said she'll just grab her bag and leave. They weren't doing anything at home anyway."
"Oh she's coming with Theo?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Well….I guess I'll have the grilled chicken avocado salad."
"Salad mami?" Kyler asked, making a disgusted face.
"It's a really good salad" Santana laughed. "Tell her not to forget the dressing."
Nodding, Brittany looked down at the phone, texting Quinn.
"Should we get something for Sophia?"
"Aren't they going to have lunch at the museum?" Jesus asked.
"Yeah" Santana conceded.
"Okay. Text sent. She said she'll be here in an hour."
"Do you want to go play halo?" Kyler asked Jesus.
Jesus nodded silently and followed Kyler to their room.
"He's going to be sick soon."
"Who is?" Brittany asked with wide eyes.
"Jesus. Come here." Brittany moved to sit close to her, resting her head on Santana's chest. "I just hope it's not a stomach bug cause that'll definitely go round the house."
"He looked fine. He was just tired. He had a bad night last night and has been playing with Niki all morning."
"Oh by the way, I asked Eve to set up an appointment for us to review the option of ADHD medication with Dr Abiye."
Brittany stayed silent, tracing her fingers along Santana's thigh.
"Babe?"
"I don't want him on strong meds babe."
"Yeah but…. You said it yourself, he's struggling more than he needs to."
"Yeah, but I can help him learn strategies for school….I don't know." Brittany sighed, letting her hand rest on Santana's stomach. "I know I'm the one that said we should talk about medication again but...Let's see what Dr. Abiye says. He might not needs medication, kids sometimes just don't sleep well."
"You're right. Okay" Santana nodded.
"Can we watch house of cards now?"
"Not stranger things?"
"We have to watch that at night when everyone's asleep. What if one of them walks in?"
"We traumatise them forever?" Santana laughed.
"Exactly"
"Okay. Pass the remote."
As the kids ate in the dining room, Brittany, Santana, Theo and Quinn ate outside by the pool.
"So I sent out the invitations yesterday. You should be getting them sometime next week."
"Doing full on invitations in the mail huh?" Santana asked.
"Obviously. I'm finally getting married. I need everyone to know."
They laughed.
"So who'd you invite?"
"That we'll care about" Santana added, before Quinn could answer.
"Are you asking if I invited Rachel?"
"Yes" Brittany giggled.
"Yeah. I invited the whole glee club."
"Wow" Santana said. "I did not see that coming."
"You should have" Quinn said.
"Yeah, I really should."
"I'm excited" Theo said with a huge grin. "I finally get to meet this infamous glee club."
"Have you seen the videos?" Santana asked with a smirk.
"Oh yeah. Every single one. My favourite is when she's singing uh…I had the time of my liiiife" Theo started singing.
"Oh my god yeah." Santana pointed at her. "With Sammy boy Evans."
"That was fun" Quinn nodded. "My only solo ever"
"That's more than Tina" Santana pointed out.
"Uh…no it's not. Tina sang gangnum style"
Santana shook her head.
"The time you guys lost sectionals?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah no. It would be best if you forgot that entire performance Bee."
"Wait you guys lost?"
"Yeah. This one girl passed out on stage cause this other girl had been making her anorexic and we all ran off stage you know cause…we thought she was dying, and we got disqualified."
Theo stared at Brittany with wide eyes.
"What?"
Santana and Quinn nodded.
"Glee club was a mess after we left."
"But let's be honest" Santana grabbed Theo's arm. "That's your favourite performance because of Valerie isn't it?"
"Totally" Brittany said seriously.
"Totally" Theo echoed.
Santana winked at him.
"Wait, wait. Crap CRAP" Brittany jumped up, spilling some of her wine on her pants.
"What Brittany? What?" Santana stood up as well, taking Brittany's glass. "Baby calm down please….Look at me." Brittany stopped frantically rubbing at the wine stain on her pants and focused on Santana. "What is it?"
"What time is it?"
"Uh…" Theo looked at his watch. "It's nearly 1:55."
"Crap I have to go get Sophia."
"Oooh" Santana relaxed, sitting back down.
"Where is Soph actually?" Theo asked.
"She went on a school trip to the museum. Britt I can go-"
Quinn frowned. "And the boys?"
"They didn't want to."
"Beebee let me-"
"No Santana. I got her. I'll see you guys in a bit." Brittany dashed into the house.
Santana pursed her lips, watching Brittany go. Quinn sighed heavily.
"She'll be back in an hour-ish." Santana told her.
"I was kinda working up to it."
Theo rubbed Quinn's thigh.
"You'll get to tell her soon babe."
"I hope. She's sucking all the fun out of it."
"Today" Santana assured her. "She doesn't have any other plans, I asked. She's just trying to prove a point to Sophia." Quinn nodded, took a deep breath and smiled.
"Brittany….can you come help me with something?"
Slightly confused, Brittany followed Santana down the stairs and into her studio.
"You took two hours to get home."
"Sorry?"
Santana threw her hands up, scoffing and shaking her head.
"Wait, why are you mad?"
"I've been telling you for a week that Quinn needs to talk to you. She's been trying to get you for weeks, now she's here and you leave for two hours?"
"I don't understand what the big deal is. Sophia wanted to go to the mall with her friends after the museum, so I took them. I didn't think you guys were waiting for me or anything."
Santana shook her head.
"What does Quinn need to talk to me about that's so serious?"
"She wants to tell you, if you'd stay in the same room as her for more than twenty minutes."
"Well I'm here now. Let's go."
"I don't think she's gonna tell you now. The kids are all up there with her…"
"Is it something bad?"
"Britt…"
"No Santana….you're scaring me now. What's going on? Is she sick?"
"Just talk to Q babe."
"Santana!"
"I'm pregnant"
They both turned to see Quinn standing at the door.
"What?" Brittany asked.
"I'm pregnant."
"You're pregnant?" Brittany turned to Santana, who nodded. She had a huge grin.
"Yes. Theo and I are gonna have a baby."
"YOU'RE PREGNANT!?"
"Thank god this room is sound proof" Quinn laughed. Brittany launched herself at Quinn, screaming excitedly.
"Oh my god Quinn! You're gonna have a baby?"
"Yeah" Quinn breathed, chuckling as Brittany pulled back to look at her. "I'm gonna have a baby."
Brittany pulled her back into a hug, squeezing tight.
"I'm so happy for you Quinn."
"Thanks Britt."
"Oh my god. This is what you've been trying to tell me for weeks?"
"Yeah!" Quinn shoved her playfully. "I was about to give up."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Brittany asked Santana.
"I couldn't spill those beans, are you kidding?"
"God…that is like the best news Q."
"I know."
"How did Theo take it?"
"He was…is so excited. He's already talking to my belly like the baby can hear anything."
"Aaaw that's cute."
"Creepy" Santana nodded.
Quinn laughed. "A little of both but…I love it."
"Who would have thought Quinn Fabray would be marrying and having a baby with a huge dork?"
"Not me." Quinn shook her head slowly. "I didn't even think I was ever going to have another kid honestly."
Brittany and Santana shared a look.
"Have you told Beth?" Santana asked.
"Not yet. I want to tell her in person."
"She'll be happy."
"I hope. She hasn't exactly taken news about me well in the past."
Santana put her hand on Quinn's shoulder.
"She was an emotional teenager Q. She's 18 now, and this is different."
"Yeah I know….I just…"
"I get it. Everything with her will always be emotional."
Quinn nodded.
"Well…this is freaking great. You're allowed to be happy about it."
"When's the baby shower?" Brittany asked.
"Not for many, many months" Quinn laughed. "I'm only three months in. Not even done with the first trimester. I'm not really supposed to be telling people yet but…I had to tell you guys."
"Have you told Noah?"
Quinn shook her head.
"I'll wait to tell him till I'm telling everyone else."
Brittany and Santana nodded.
"Do you think it'll be weird?" Brittany asked.
Quinn looked thoughtful. "I don't know. I think...maybe a bit...but it shouldn't be right? We were teenagers. He's got to be over it by now."
Santana nodded. "Yeah. I bet he'll just be happy you're finally letting yourself heal."
Quinn smiled gratefully at her.
"Thanks for telling us." Brittany said with a soft smile. She pulled Quinn in for a hug, then Santana, and squeezed them both. "God why do I feel like crying?"
"Me too" Quinn chuckled.
"I'm so happy for you Quinn. Seriously. You deserve this so much."
"Thanks Britt…I only have this because of you guys so I really mean it. Thank you."
After one more group hug, the trio headed back up the stairs. Brittany hugged Theo, silently congratulating him. He grinned madly at her, his excitement about it evident in his eyes.
Brittany couldn't really wrap her head around the fact that Quinn was going to have a baby, but she was so happy for her she felt like she was about to burst. Quinn had been craving her happy ending since they were freshmen in high school. Up until she moved to San Jose, Quinn had been planning out her future, manipulating everything and everyone to ensure she got what she had been picturing, and convinced she was never going to get it. That was till she met Theo.
He'd come into her life randomly and suddenly, and it took them all a long time to realise that he wasn't going to leave. Santana had teased Quinn endlessly about his very obvious crush on her, and Quinn had resisted him for over a year before realising that she had feelings for him. He was a sweet and sensitive guy, who liked romantic movies over action and had a favourite nail salon which he went to once a month. He didn't know anything about sports and made weird jokes that Brittany almost never found funny but that made Quinn laugh like Brittany had never heard. It was the kind of laugh she used to get out of Santana when they were in high school. The kind where you try not to let it out but it just bursts out of you.
Theo was the opposite of the guy Quinn had pictured herself marrying, but once she'd gotten used to seeing them together, Brittany realised he was the perfect guy. Maybe the only guy. He was to Quinn what Brittany was to Santana. He loved Quinn like she loved Santana, which was what people like them needed. People with deep insecurities and less than loving up-bringing or traumatic pasts. Instead of excusing or being annoyed or embarrassed by Quinn's bitchy exterior, Theo was enamoured by it. Brittany had heard him say many times that Quinn was high maintenance, but that he liked maintaining her.
Only a guy like that could make Quinn feel safe enough to have another child, and Brittany was so grateful to him for that.
She was also extremely excited to have a baby around again, this time that she was not responsible for. She could finally get Quinn back for spoiling her kids.
As Santana had predicted, Jesus got sick.
Sunday night he went to bed sniffling. Monday morning when Brittany went to wake them up for school, he had a fever.
What she hadn't predicted, was that she'd be sick too.
"Baby, you're not going anywhere today."
"I have a meeting Brid."
Her voice was hoarse and nasally, thanks to her blocked nose.
"You're not going to it. You should see yourself in the mirror."
"You're supposed to dink I look beautiful all de dime."
"I do" Brittany nodded. "I just don't think anyone else will."
"Ugh" Santana grabbed the tissue roll by her bed and cut a few pieces. "I can just steam my face."
"No. You're staying home." Brittany giggled. "Don't look at me like that. Jesus is staying home too."
"We're having a sick day?"
"You're having a sick day." Brittany picked her handbag from the foot of the bed. "I'm going to send him in here. You two can help each other survive the day."
"Okay" Santana curled into her side. "Have a good day."
"Thanks baby. I'll come by to check on you guys at lunch time okay?"
"Mmmhh"
"If you need anything call me. I'll have my phone on."
"Okay."
"Okay bye"
Brittany blew her a kiss and left. As promised she woke Jesus and sent him to their room, only leaving once she'd seen him close the door behind him. A part of her felt bad for going in to work when they both had fevers and red puffy eyes, but she also knew they'd be fine.
"You'll be fine" she yelled as she walked down the stairs. The other three kids were waiting for her at the front door. "How do you guys feel?"
"Fine" they all said.
"No running noses? Tearing eyes?" They shook their heads. "Good. We might survive this then."
"I probably have it" Kyler said, opening the door. "I sleep in the same room as him."
"I sleep in the same bed as her" Brittany countered. They stared at each other. Sophia took Mateo's hand and pulled him away from them both.
"Just to be safe" she said, raising her hands when they frowned at her. "I don't want to be sick, and so far I'm pretty sure I don't have it. I have my own room and spent most of the weekend in there. Why risk infection now?"
"Let's just hope none of us have it" Brittany said. She unlocked the car for them to all get in. She really could not be sick this week. There wasn't a single day she could spare to spend at home shaking or sweating.
"Hey Britt."
Kaleb came walking out of the senior dancers' lounge, mouth full of what Brittany assumed to be the donut he was holding in his hand. He was grinning widely at her.
"Hey" she snatched the donut from him, hastily taking a bite before he could snatch it back.
"Cold" He said with a serious shake of his head. "Besides, you just came in, how can you be hungry?"
"I didn't have breakfast." She tried to say over another bite, effectively stuffing her mouth. "We were having kind of a rough morning."
Kaleb's teasing frown turned into a sympathetic one.
"Everything okay?"
Brittany nodded, struggling to swallow so she could answer.
"Yeah. Santana and Jesus are sick. Santana worse than Jesus I think, but that kind of threw off our morning. Santana was supposed to take the kids to school today, hence…" she brandished her arms wide.
"Your late arrival."
"Yerp."
She took another bite of the nearly finished donut.
"Do you think you have whatever they have?"
Popping the last of the donut into her mouth, Brittany shook her head, looping her arm with Kaleb's and began walking them to the studio that had been booked out for them for the week.
She felt bad, leaving Santana at home with how sick she was. She wondered if she should have taken the day off to stay home and take care of her.
"Poor Santana though."
"She'll be okay" she mumbled round her mouthful.
Kaleb chuckled.
"Well we won't be."
"Why?"
Brittany dropped her bag in the corner and picked out her dancing clothes. On days when she wasn't doing school drop off she usually came in her dancing outfit, to save her time, unless she had a meeting in the morning. When she did have to go by the school though, she had quickly learned that she'd need to wear 'appropriate' clothes. There was the one reason, which was the paparazzi somehow getting a picture of her and the kids walking into the school with her in extremely baggy sweat pants and an old shirt. She hadn't minded so much, even when E! talked about it for a solid twenty minutes a few days later, saying things like 'she'd let herself go'. But her kids, Sophia and Jesus specifically, had been mortified. So she'd promised she'd be better. What had really done it though, was the looks she got from the teachers. Mrs Knowell always looked so disappointed whenever Brittany showed up like that, on one occasion insinuating that Mateo's messiness was learned behaviour. So though Brittany didn't take it as far as Santana in terms of thinking through her drop off outfits, she was at least mindful that she looked presentable.
Of course that meant having to change twice in the morning. Four times in a day if you added having to change back if she was on pick up duty and then again when she got home, so she wasn't spending hours in dirty clothes before she showered.
Kaleb was facing the door when she looked up, giving her the chance to change.
"Because in the morning meeting you missed, they said they wanted us to have a run through on Thursday."
"Nobody told me there was a meeting…"
"It was impromptu and not very long. Did you hear what I said?"
"I'll be honest, I'm changing and thinking about how inconvenient changing all the time is…"
"Are you done?"
Brittany threw her tank top over her head.
"Yup."
Kaleb turned around.
"They want us to have a run through on Thursday."
"A run through of what?"
Brittany turned, stuffing her jeans and long sleeved shirt in her duffle bag and zipping it up.
"Of the routines Britt."
"All of them?" Brittany spun round, her eyes wide.
"Yeah." Kaleb nodded. "Hethro said we've had more than enough time to-"
"We've had five days."
Kaleb shrugged.
"He thinks that's enough time."
"To come up with three dances, each five minutes long? How?"
"I don't know, but don't worry okay? We can do it. We'll just be on it for the next three days."
"I have my….my convention starts on Wednesday."
"Oh crap yeah…" Kaleb bit his bottom lip. "Britt…" he said hesitantly.
"I know, I know!" Brittany rubbed a hand over her face. "And Santana's sick so…and Quinn's out in LA…."
"Quinn?"
"Someone has to watch the kids...Pick them up from school."
Kaleb frowned. "Wait…why?"
"Because we're going to have to do as much as possible before my convention starts, after which, I guess I'm working nights."
"No Britt…"
"There's no other option." Brittany carefully sat on the floor and began to stretch. "We have to do the run through on Thursday, and I have to be at my convention from Wednesday to Friday, 7 am to 3 PM." She shrugged.
Kaleb watched her stretch, running his tongue over his top lip the way he did when he was thinking hard.
"I don't like it." He finally said. Brittany shrugged again. "Santana's not gonna like it."
Brittany paused, her hands which were gripping her feet, slackened as she dropped her eyes to the floor. She felt guilty that she wasn't going to be home much over the next week, especially since Santana was sick, but she couldn't see a way out of it. She had to finish this choreography, otherwise they could very likely lose the project, and they couldn't afford to do that, not with the number of contracts Hethro and his company gave to their studio. But she also couldn't miss her convention. It was her convention. She had to give opening speeches, oversee sessions, heck she had a session she was teaching as well. She had to be there.
"She'll understand." She said, regripping her foot and feeling the stretch in the back of her thigh. "It's only for three days."
"No. Mami no me gusta ese color."
"Red? Really? I love red."
Jesus shook his head.
"Urgh" Santana groaned. "Okay you pick, I need to go blow my nose."
She waddled, duvet and all, to the bathroom and picked the entire roll of tissue.
"My nose is getting sore" Jesus whined when she re-joined him.
"You could always go blow into the sink."
"Eww no" Jesus shook his head.
"Didn't think so. You could…rub some of my lip balm over your nose."
Jesus turned and frowned at her, abandoning his search for the perfect nail polish colour for a moment.
"It helps" Santana defended.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Ugh, Jesus" she whined. She gathered up the blanket and climbed onto the bed, dropping her head onto the pillow. "I don't know, my brain is clogged up, but I'm pretty sure."
Jesus plucked the black nail polish from her dresser and climbed onto the bed beside her. When Santana didn't lift her head, he shoved her. She moaned out, then coughed.
"Black." He told her once she cracked an eye open. She nodded.
"My favourite. You're sure you want it on your fingers?"
Jesus nodded. "This hand." He held up his right hand.
"Okay."
A minute went by without Santana moving.
"Muuuum."
"I'm summoning the strength to move."
Jesus giggled, prompting him into a coughing fit. That got Santana moving. She sat up, rubbing his back soothingly. When he recovered, she handed him the water she'd ventured down to get a few hours ago. He drank it all.
"You okay?" Jesus nodded solemnly. "Do you want some apple and cinnamon spice tea?" he nodded again. "Okay. Lie down amor." When he was flat on his stomach, Santana reached for the vapo rub on her bedside table and scooped some out with her finger. She rubbed it over Jesus' back, slowly running her palms up and down from his shoulders to the base of his back until she felt it was spread well enough. Her eyes stung slightly from the potency of the gel, so she lowered his shirt.
"I'll be right back okay?"
Motherhood really was a little like a super power, Santana thought as she stood in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil. There was no way she would have been able to get herself out of bed if she had been at home alone. She wouldn't have come down for water, or to make a snack at lunch time, or for tea now. Even though she would have needed those things, they wouldn't have been important enough to make herself do it because of how weak and awful she was feeling. But when she heard the rasp in Jesus voice somewhere close to 10 AM, she hadn't even thought twice about the water. When Brittany called at lunch time asking if they would be okay if she didn't pass by at lunch, she realised Jesus hadn't eaten, which wasn't good for his strength, so she had actually dragged herself down to the kitchen and cooked. Now here she was, standing duvet free in the freezing kitchen, feeling like she might shake apart from how cold she was, making Jesus some tea to soothe his throat.
She took the two steaming, impeccably smelling cups up to her room and found Jesus asleep, on his stomach the way she had left him. She smiled.
While he slept, she watched some TV. She'd finished her tea and was halfway through her second episode of house of cards when Jesus began coughing again. She turned to look at him, hating how dry his throat sounded. After a particularly painful sounding cough, she placed her hands on his back. It was damp. She shifted closer to him and touched his forehead. His hair was damp, as was the skin under it. He was also extremely hot.
Not bothering to get a thermometer, Santana staggered down the stairs and got the Ibuprofen. She didn't need a thermometer to tell her that Jesus had a fever.
"Wake up baby."
She rubbed his back and kissed his head until he blinked his eyes open. He groaned.
"I know honey. Take this then you can go back to sleep."
Santana had to help him sit up. His eyes were bloodshot.
Obediently, he swallowed the medicine, then downed another glass of water at Santana's request, before curling onto his side.
"My throat hurts."
"You'll feel better in a little bit. Let the medicine work."
Jesus nodded into his pillow.
"I'm going to get you some more water okay?"
He didn't respond, so she left.
They'd been having an okay day. The morning wasn't bad at all, aside from a few coughs and sniffles. They'd been excited about a sick day at home, the two of them, had watched a movie and laughed about nothing, almost forgetting they were sick. It was after lunch that they had really started to feel it. More coughing that was drier and more painful. A relentless headache and fatigue for Santana, and a fever that until now had been trying to creep up on Jesus. Looks like it finally got him.
Once she had a few more bottles of water set on the bedside table, Santana crawled into bed, sitting with her back against the headboard. Jesus, who was still awake, cuddled into her, resting his head on her lap. She stroked his damp hair.
"Can you paint my fingers?"
"Maybe after you wake up babe. You might mess it up while you sleep."
He nodded into her lap.
"Did you take some medicine too?" He asked her quietly.
"No. I'm not feeling that bad."
"You feel hot."
"You have a fever, everything must feel hot to you."
"Wouldn't it feel cold, since I'm hotter than everything?"
Though she didn't answer, Santana had to admit Jesus was right. Her eyes were aching, along with what felt like every single joint in her body. Here skin felt raw...overly sensitive, and even under the covers she was freezing. It was likely that she actually did have a fever. She shook her head. Now was not the time for her to be worrying about herself. She didn't have the luxury when her son was shivering in her lap, his temperature so high she could feel it through her pyjamas. She turned to her bedside table where her phone lay silent. Brittany hadn't called since lunch time. Santana really wanted to talk to her. She wanted Brittany here, so she could relax properly. So she could allow herself to be helpless, knowing someone was taking care of Jesus. Taking her of her.
Santana sighed. Brittany was busy, she knew that. Her convention was starting in a few days, so there was probably a lot to prep. Brittany would be here if she could, and in any case, she would be seeing her in a few hours anyway. Santana picked the remote and pressed play, rubbing Jesus' back.
"Are you sure you shouldn't take some medicine mum?"
"I'm supposed to be taking of you remember?" She chuckled. "Go to sleep amor."
"Where's Jesus?" Felix asked, catching up with Kyler and Nicholi as they walked to class.
"At home sick."
"Are you sick too?" Felix eyed him warily. Kyler frowned.
"If he was sick he'd be at home with his brozer dumbass." Nicholi said, shaking his head.
"Hey I have to be sure. If I get sick I won't be able to go bowling tomorrow."
"I'm not sick."
"Dudes!" Eli came running up to them just as they reached their classroom. He paused when he noticed Felix. "Oh, hey Felix."
Kyler had three friends that he would consider his best friends. Nicholi was his best, best friend, then there was Eli and Owen. Most of his class from pre-k had all joined the same elementary school, and considering they'd only been a class of nine kids, two of whom were his siblings, they were all pretty close, but he liked Eli and Owen a little more than the others. The four of them hung out a lot outside school, which he didn't do much with the other boys in his class.
Eli looked uncomfortable all of a sudden, but was saved by their teacher, Mrs Akley ushering them into class.
"Let's go boys, don't linger at the door."
Kyler and Nicoli took their seats. Nicholi's was the last in the row, putting him by the window. Kyler sat to his right.
Not five minutes into their lesson, a note was being passed onto Kyler's desk. He looked up, around, and saw Eli waving subtly at him. He opened the note.
"Owen's birthday is on Friday. His parents said they'll take us to RAGING WATERS on Saturday. You in?"
Kyler's heart sped up. He'd been to raging waters before, once, and it had been the definition of awesome. They'd gone for his mama's birthday two years ago, which meant the only kids that had been there were Jesus, Sophia and Niki. It had still been a lot of fun, but now he would be with his best friends. He couldn't wait.
He hastily scribbled his reply of 'HELLS YES' capital letters and underlined and folded it up. When he looked around to pass the note back, Eli was shaking his head. He pointed at Nicholi.
'Oh' Kyler mouthed, nodded, and passed the note to Nicholi. He watched his best friend eagerly as he read the note. When Nicholi's head snapped up, his eyes wide with excitement, Kyler grinned madly and nodded. Nicholi picked up his pen and wrote down his answer, folded the note and handed it to Kyler. Kyler opened it and felt his smile widen. There were arrows pointed as Kyler's 'HELLS YES' and then in Nicholi's handwriting, 'what he said.'
Kyler passed the note back to Eli, catching Sophia's eyes as he turned back to the front. She was frowning suspiciously at him. He just smiled.
"What were you passing notes about in class?"
Sophia was at Kyler's desk before he'd even packed his bag. He turned away from Nicholi, who he'd been talking with excitedly and looked up at Sophia.
"Why do you care?"
"I've never seen you pass notes before."
"I don't ask you what you talk to your friends about."
"Just tell me."
"No. It's none of your business."
"I saw you passing the note too." Sophia's best friend Aubrey said, coming to stand next to her. "Nora had to pass it from Eli."
"So?" Nicholi asked. Kyler stood up.
"So what were you talking about?"
"It's not your business" Nicholi said angrily. "Seriously, since when do you care?"
"Since it's Owen's birthday on Friday."
"So?" Nicholi asked again.
"So you guys must be planning something" Sophia said.
"Why do you care?" Kyler asked again, getting irritated. "You don't even talk to Owen."
"How do you know it's his birsday?" Nicholi asked.
"I heard him and Eli talking about it after lunch." Aubrey said.
"Are you guys really so bored that you have to spy on other people?" Kyler asked, frowning at Sophia.
"You boys just talk so-"
"Sophia, Kyler" Mrs Akley called from the front of the class. They turned to her. "You're going home."
Kyler frowned. "Miss, I have swimming training."
"Your uncle said you're gonna have to skip today." Mrs Akley said apologetically.
Sophia and Kyler frowned at each other, then Sophia's eyes widened and she was rushing to get her bag from the back of her chair. Kyler turned to Nicholi.
"You're really going to miss it?"
"Tell coach I'm sorry." Kyler said, trying not to pout. He figured his mum was still really sick at home and his mama was busy at work so it made sense that uncle Noah would come get them, but he hated missing practices.
"Wait" Eli and Owen walked up to them. Owen looked around to make sure the girls weren't close enough to hear, and then pulled Nicholi, who was still standing by his desk, closer to the group. "So my mum said if it's just us she'll take us to raging waters on Saturday morning, and we can spend the whole day there if we want!"
"That's so awesome" Kyler said, his mood picking up. "We could ride all the slides like 50 times."
"EACH" Eli said, gripping Owen and Kyler's arms.
"But it has to be only us, otherwise she said I have to pick a place less expensive."
"So we don't tell anyone" Nicholi said nodding.
"Yeah" Owen said.
"Wait" Kyler's smile faded slowly. All three of his friends paused in their excitement, looking at him with wide eyes. "What about Jesus….I know you said it has to be just us but I don't think I can come without him."
"Dude" Owen shoved him, grinning. "You scared me for a second."
"Huh?"
"Of course Jesus can come. You think my mum would let me invite one twin and not the other?"
"Besides, Jesus is cool." Eli said. "Not annoying like your other friends on the swim team."
"They're not that annoying."
Eli and Owen shared a look.
"Anyway, the point is, we don't tell anyone-"
"Not even Sophia" Owen said, looking at Kyler seriously.
"I won't tell her, but she'll find out. Like what if my mums say something about it when she's around?"
"Tell them what my mum said."
Kyler bit his lower lip. He didn't want Sophia to come, not really, but there was a part of him, the protective big brother part that had him feeling bad for purposefully excluding her like this. She wasn't the shy little girl with no friends anymore, but he couldn't shake the urge to make her feel safe. Would she even want to come? She wasn't friends with Eli or Owen, and even though she seemed to like Nicholi, he didn't know if she'd want to spend a whole day with him.
She wouldn't want to come, he decided. There was no point even telling her, because she never wanted to go anywhere with his or Jesus' friends. The guilt slowly drained away. She wouldn't want to come.
"She won't find out."
"Good." Eli said.
"So the last thing, my mum said if you guys wanted, you could sleep over on Friday."
"You got the new multi-player version update right?" Nicholi asked. Owen nodded.
"The one with split screen?" Kyler asked.
"Yeah dude."
"Yes!" He and Nicholi cheered excitedly. "I'll ask my mums but I'm sure they'll say yes."
"Yeah, I'll be zere too." Nicholi nodded.
They looked at Eli.
"Do you even need to ask?"
The four boys grinned.
"Jesus-Sorry….Kyler." Kyler turned around again. "Your uncle is waiting for you."
"Oh yeah." Kyler grabbed his bag from the back of his chair and waved at his friends. "See you guys."
"Sign in today so we can plan what we're gonna do at Owen's on Friday." Nicholi said.
"And kill some aliens" Owen yelled after him.
"Okay" Kyler laughed. He ran out.
"Sorry you're missing your swim practice little dude."
"It's okay." Kyler said, buckling his seat belt. "Is my mum okay?"
"Both your mums are fine. One's major busy at work and the other's blowing her nose with her t-shirt."
"Yuck!" All three kids yelled, but they were all laughing.
"Can I stay at your house?" Kyler asked.
Puck turned to look at him briefly before refocusing on the road.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I share a room with Jesus, and I cannot get whatever he has."
The last thing he needed was to get sick before Friday. If he missed this sleepover and then the trip to the water park, he was sure he'd die.
"All week?" Puck asked.
"Me too." Sophia said. She was eyeing Kyler again, and he didn't like it. "If he's staying with you I want to too."
"We'll see guys. I might have to go to LA on Wednesday, but maybe you can crash at Tia's if I do. If she's back."
"Will you ask our mama?" Sophia asked hopefully.
"Sure boss. I'll ask her. It would be awesome to have you little rascals over to mi casa. You're coming too right Mateo?"
"YEAH!"
Sophia leaned into Kyler's side. "What are you guys planning on doing for Owen's birthday?"
"Oh my god. Why do you care?" Kyler pushed her out of his space.
"I just wanna know. Is he having a party?"
"Are you worried you won't be invited?" Kyler asked, slightly worried he'd been wrong. "Would you want to go?"
Sophia scoffed.
"No" she said, shaking her head. "Even if he invited me I wouldn't go."
Kyler released a relieved breath.
"Then why do you want to know?"
"If you guys are going to his party then I can go somewhere with Aubrey. Or maybe my friends could come over or something." Sophia shrugged.
"Oh" Kyler thought of the best way to answer, without giving away the secret. "Invite them over….or whatever."
"So there is a party?"
"No, I didn't say that."
"But you're not going to be home?"
"Stop asking so many questions!"
"Why are you keeping his party a secret?" then she gasped. "Wait…you don't want someone to know. Is it Felix?"
"Mind your business Sophia!"
"Hey what's all the shouting about amigos?" Puck asked, raising his voice as well.
Kyler crossed his arms and looked out the window.
"Nothing" he mumbled.
They got to his mum's office in the longest twenty minutes of his life. Without a word to anyone, though his uncle tried to engage him, he walked through the building, waving politely at the receptionist. He knew this place as well as his own house. He knew each of the studios, even the codes to most of them. He knew where the break room was and where the senior choreographer's lounge was, which was where all the good snacks and treats were. He made his way to it, leaving his uncle, brother and sister behind.
"Hi Mo" he greeted, as he walked into the lounge. Mo was Indian, with dark black hair that he always kept neat and short and a shadow of a beard. He was one of the few people at the studio that Kyler didn't really know well. He wasn't at any of the parties his parents threw when they invited their friends over. He hadn't come to any of his or his siblings birthdays, unlike Syth, Chad and Kaleb. He didn't have kids that Kyler and his siblings were forced to have play dates with every once in a while, like Sylvia or Jamie. Kyler only ever saw him when he wandered into other studios when he was bored, or when, like today, he came into the choreographer's lounge.
"Hey…uh help me out here. Which one are you?"
Kyler smiled.
"Jesus."
"Right. Jesus. How are you?"
"I'm okay. Just came in to get some snacks."
"Help yourself little man." Mo pointed at the counter in the 'kitchen', so Kyler made his way over. There was still a lot of food considering it was nearly 4 o'clock, but Kyler knew that a lot of the senior team usually stayed late. He'd been at the studio past 8 a dozen times with his mama, and she was never the last one there.
There were two trays with pastries, two with sandwiches and two with cut up fruit. He pulled a chair to the counter, climbed on it and opened the cabinet above his head. From it he got two plates and set them on the counter.
"You okay?" Mo asked.
"Yup"
He opened the cabinet beside it and pulled out a box of crackers and pack of lays. Barbeque, he smiled, his favourite. Placing them both on the counter as well, he climbed down. Next, he went to the fridge and pulled out a mountain dew, the blue shock one that his parents rarely let him drink. Lastly, he grabbed the tub of cream cheese and closed the fridge. From the spread before him, he took two chocolate dipped donuts and chocolate chip muffin, then he took a bunch of napkins, wrapped two more donuts in them and stuffed them in his bag, which he took off his back. Armed with all his food, Kyler made his way to the couch, placed the two plates beside him and climbed on.
"What are you watching?" he asked Mo, taking out a cracker and dipping it in the cream cheese.
"It's called modern family. Ever watched it?" Kyler shook his head. "Yeah I bet your mum wouldn't want you to."
"It looks boring."
"It's funny."
"It looks boring" Kyler repeated, stuffing the entire cracker into his mouth.
"Alright" Mo picked up the remote. "What do you want to watch then?"
"Channel 32." Kyler spoke around his food.
Mo frowned. "What's on channel 32?"
"Put it"
"If it's cartoons I'm changing back." Mo switched channels. "Football."
Kyler grinned, stuffed another cracker in his mouth and unscrewed his mountain dew.
"Alright" Mo said, dropping the remote. "I can live with football."
"Do you watch it?"
"If it's on. But I don't follow it."
Kyler nodded.
"Do you? Your brother plays right?"
Kyler was confused for a second before he remembered that Mo thought he was Jesus.
"Oh yeah."
"Do you play too?"
"Sometimes" Kyler said laughing. It had been a long time since he played this trick. It never got old. "But Kyler is more into it."
Mo nodded. "Your mum showed us a video of him at his game. He's good."
Kyler grinned, taking another sip of his drink and then taking a donut.
"I'll tell him you think so."
"I'm sure your brother doesn't remember me."
Kyler laughed again. This was so fun.
It took thirty minutes for him to be found. His mum, looking exhausted, came waking into the lounge with Kaleb, who also looked exhausted.
"That looks like a little boy I know" Kaleb said, grinning and changing course from the kitchen to the general area where Kyler was sitting.
"Ky?" His mum called, pausing mid step. She shook her head, smiling. "I should have known you would be in here."
"Wait, I thought you were Jesus" Mo said with a frown. Brittany laughed.
"I am" Kyler said. "Mama!" he pretended to be upset.
"My bad" Brittany said, her hands up. "Can I get a hug from my son, whichever one you are?"
Grinning, Kyler jumped off the couch and gave his mum a hug. She kissed the top of his head.
"How was your day?"
"Good. Actually" he jumped from foot to foot. "It's Owen's birthday on Friday."
"Oh!" Brittany smiled. "That's nice."
"Uh huh, and his mum said she'll take us to raging waters"
"Oh wow!" Brittany's eyebrows raised. She remembered how expensive that place had been when she took the kids there for her birthday. Expensive but so worth it. "That's nice of her."
"Uh huh. So can I go?"
"Oh yeah! Yeah of course buddy."
Kyler jumped excitedly, then launched himself at Brittany, squeezing her waist.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"You're welcome." Brittany giggled.
"There's also a sleepover on Friday, can I go for that too?"
"Yes" Brittany nodded.
"Thanks mama." He let go of her and made his way back to the couch. "Jesus is invited too."
"Okay bud."
"Hey!" Kyler exclaimed, pointing accusingly as Kaleb who was taking a bite out of his muffin.
Kaleb grinned. "That's what you get for not giving me a hug."
"You want a hug?" Kyler asked, grinning. Kaleb shook his head, taking another big bite out of the muffin. Kyler bent low and charged, tackling Kaleb round the waist. They landed heavily on the floor.
"Kyler!" Brittany yelled from the kitchen. Kyler hoped up, taking his muffin from Kaleb's hand. "We've talked to you about doing that."
"He asked for it mama."
"This is why we don't let you drink that stuff" Brittany pointed at the Mt Dew on the table. Kyler lowered his eyes apologetically.
"I asked for it Lopierce." Kaleb grunted. He got gingerly to his feet and rubbed his head. "Damn, maybe go easy on me next time."
"Don't eat my food next time." Kyler smirked. "No megusta."
Brittany laughed.
"Are we going home mama?"
"Oh" his mum turned around, shaking a smoothie bottle she'd taken out of the fridge. "Uncle Noah asked me if you guys could go stay at his house this week."
"Oh…" Kyler looked at his bag.
"Do you not want to go? I thought it might be fun, and since your brother's sick…"
"Yeah. Yeah" Kyler nodded. "I uh…it could be fun, but I need to go home first."
"Well yeah" his mum laughed. "You have to get your clothes buddy."
"Oh yeah" Kyler laughed. "Right. Okay then yes. I want to go to Uncle Noah's."
"Okay" Brittany took a sip of her drink, then placed it on the counter and opened her arms. "Come give me a hug then."
"Are we leaving now?"
"No reason to keep Uncle Noah here."
Kyler fit himself in his mum's arms and hugged tight. She hugged him back just as tight.
"I'm gonna miss you bud, but I'll see you on Saturday okay?"
Kyler nodded into her stomach.
"Maybe sooner if I have to drop Jesus at Owen's."
"Okay" He squeezed a little tighter for good measure, then pulled back.
"Give me a kiss."
Brittany leaned down and Kyler kissed her.
"No lipstick this time" Brittany laughed.
"Thank god" Kyler giggled cheekily. He picked his bag, bumped fists with Kaleb, waved at Mo and left to find his uncle.
"Looks like that sorts that out" Brittany said to Kaleb, picking her drink again. "No issue staying late now."
Kaleb raised his eyebrow, cocking his head.
"What?"
He shook his head. "Just...what about Santana?"
Brittany turned away from him, walking back to the counter she'd put her drink on, picked it and shook it slowly. She didn't say anything.
"Anyway that's lucky for us." Kaleb spoke again. "The more time we get to rehears the better right?"
"Yeah." Brittany nodded, looking down at the bottle. "Right."
Santana woke up to her phone buzzing under her pillow. She reached blindly for it, not daring to open her eyes with the way her head was pounding.
"Hello?" she answered groggily.
"You don't sound better."
A smile tugged gently at Santana's lips.
"Hello to you too babe."
"Are you not feeling better?" Brittany asked, sounding worried.
"Not really...I guess...But not worse."
"And Jesus?"
Santana stretched forward, cracking an eye open so she could see, and gently placed the back of her hand on the back of Jesus' neck.
"His fever is finally gone." She said. She pulled the phone away from her ear and checked the time. "And he hasn't coughed in over two hours."
"That's good." Brittany sighed. "So hopefully by tonight you guys will be able to get out of bed?"
"I've been up and about, but yeah hopefully the worst will be over."
"Good."
"Are you on the way to pick the kids?"
"Actually, Noah should be arriving pretty soon."
"At the school?"
"At home?"
Santana frowned, opening her eyes. "Why?"
"Because I asked him to pick them for me."
"Oh, busy day."
She phrase it as a question. She knew Brittany was going to be busy this week. She always was the week before a convention.
"Yeah. I found out today that I need to showcase the routines on Thursday. So Kaleb and I worked through lunch. We're going to have to work every chance we get to get this done in time."
Brittany sounded stressed. She was trying to hide it but Santana could hear it in her voice. She could also read between the lines. Brittany had her convention starting on Wednesday, which means she wouldn't be able to work on the choreography during the day on Wednesday and Thursday, which meant she was going to have to work after the convention. At night.
"Oh." She said, realising she hadn't spoken. "Sorry babe."
"It's okay. How are you feeling? Tell me the truth."
Santana looked at Jesus as he took in a loud, deep breath.
"I'm alright Bee." She said, injecting as much energy into her voice as she could.
"Do you need me to come home?"
"No."
"Are you sure? I can. I don't want you feeling like death and I'm not there when you need me."
Santana swallowed, closing her eyes.
"We don't need you. We're not doing anything. We've been in bed all day, and we'll be in bed all night too. We're fine, I promise."
Brittany was silent for a moment. Santana could practically hear the internal debate going on in Brittany's mind.
"Will you get us dinner though? I don't think I can cook."
"Yes." Brittany said quickly. "I'll come by at seven and bring you something. What do you want?"
"Anythi-"
"Chinese?" Brittany cut in. "It'll be nice and spicy but not too chili."
"Sure." Santana nodded. "Make sure you get the sizzling beef for Jesus."
"Okay."
"Thanks."
"I'll see you later baby. I love you."
"I love you."
Santana disconnected the call, shifting onto her back and staring up at the ceiling, feeling heavy. She hadn't lied. She and Jesus were fine. They'd been fine all day, and she was sure they could make it through the night as well. But while she may not need Brittany, that didn't mean she didn't want her.