Santana chewed her bottom lip, checking her phone for the fifth time in twenty minutes. Her stomach was twisting in the familiar knots of anxiety that had been plaguing her ever since Eve had told them about Kevin's request. Brittany was content to do nothing, but she was not. It was driving her mad, making her tense every time she went out with the kids, terrified as she was that he would show up as he had in the bakery. She needed to do something, which was why she was meeting with a private investigator.
If someone was following Kevin, she could at least be sure that he wasn't following her, and then maybe she could stop giving herself stomach ulcers.
There were three sharp knocks on the door before it cracked open and Eve's head poked through. "Santana?"
"Yes, send him in."
Nodding, Eve left. Less than a minute later, Eve led a short black man into the office. Santana stood up, smoothing her skirt down and trying to pretend she wasn't nervous.
"Mr. Greyson." She said. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"It wasn't a problem." He smiled, setting a black bag on the floor and extending his hand for her to shake. "Mrs Lopez-Pierce."
Santana shook it. "Please have a seat."
As she sat down herself, Santana tried to think of the best way to start this conversation. Mr. Greyson got there first.
"So," he said, "you need someone followed?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
Santana hesitated. She wasn't foolish enough to simply spill all of her family drama to a man for hire. He may not talk while he was working for her, but he could take the story to anyone afterwards, for the right price. Yes, she could have him sign a contract, and she would, but that wasn't a risk she wanted to take. If he decided the payout he would get for getting the scoop on Santana Lopez was worth it, it wouldn't matter that she could sue him for all the money he made, the story would be out. So she would need to be very careful with what she did or didn't say.
"Well…" she started, "there's a man that's just recently gotten out of prison."
"Oh."
She could already see the light of curiosity in his eyes.
"And you want to find something that will get him sent back to prison?"
"That's…it's…"Santana shook her head, glancing down at her phone which was once again ringing. She ignores it. "He's reached out to my family, but we don't want anything to do with him."
"Okay…"
"So, we just kind of need an assurance that he's staying away from us."
"So you want me to tail him and report back where he's been?"
"Yes." Santana said. "And if he goes anywhere near my house, my work or my wife's offices I'd want you to notify me immediately."
Mr. Greyson nodded, still looking incredibly curious.
"Who is this man?"
"His name is Kevin, I have the information you'll need to find him." She pulled open a drawer in her desk and pulled out a small file, which she handed to him.
"Okay," he said, slowly taking the file, "but who is he?"
Santana narrowed her eyes, sitting back in her seat. "Do you need to know?"
"I could find out in the process of my investigation."
"Except I'm not hiring you to investigate him, just to tail him."
"…Right."
Santana eyed Mr. Greyson carefully, trying to decide if this was a bad idea.
"Mr. Greyson I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you can't share anything you find about me, my family or this man."
Mr. Greyson bent over, tucking the envelop into the bag he'd come in with.
"Mrs Lopierce…can I call you Lopierce? I've heard people do." He looked up with a smirk.
"Sure." Santana said, trying to figure out what the smirk meant.
"Mrs. Lopierce, with what I do," he sat up, "you don't get very successful sharing your clients' secrets. My entire business is built on the promise of anonymity."
"Right." Santana relaxed slightly. "Sorry I just hate scandal."
Mr. Greyson's smirk widened.
"Well you don't have to worry about me. The only things I leak are the things my clients' want leaked."
"Okay." Santana took a deep breath. "Alright then we can begin as soon as you sign the contract."
"And how long shall we be working together?" He asked.
That was an excellent question, to which Santana had no real answer. She couldn't very well have Mr. Greyson follow Kevin forever, but until he was back in jail Santana wanted eyes on him.
"For now the contract is for a month. My family won't be in town from next week until July. When we return, we'll re-discuss."
"Works for me." Mr. Greyson said.
"Good." Santana nodded, "In future, if you need anything or can't reach me, call my assistant, Eve."
"The lady that let me in?"
"Yes."
"Alright."
"Alright." Santana tried not to feel like she'd just made some kind of illegal deal as she rose from her seat.
"I look forward to working with you Mrs. Lopierce." He held out his hand for her to shake again.
"No offense Mr. Greyson," Santana said as she shook it, "but I hope we don't work with each other for very long."
Mr. Greyson chuckled.
"If I do my job right, we won't have to."
With a curt nod, he left.
Eve came in several minutes later, eyes wide, looking like Santana felt on the inside.
"So you actually did it?" She asked.
"Yup, I did it." Santana said, dropping heavily back into her seat with a huff. "Now we wait."
Thankfully, the elevator at Quinn's was more reliable than at Puck's, so Santana didn't have to run up the stairs when she got there. Her phone had been ringing almost non-stop for the past ten minutes, and she knew it was both Brittany and Quinn trying to figure out where she was. She ran from the elevator to Quinn's door and pushed it open, knowing it wouldn't be locked.
"Santana!" Brittany exclaimed as soon as she walked in.
Santana quickly took off her shoes and dropped her bag.
"Finally." Quinn muttered, standing from the couch. "Where have you been?"
Brittany beckoned her forward. "I've been calling you."
"Sorry." Santana said. "I had to pass by the studio." She bent and kissed Brittany, then hugged Quinn and Theo.
"What did you need to do at the studio?" Brittany asked.
"I just needed to sort something out with Eve." Santana said nonchalantly, looking around. "This is quite a party."
She'd thought they were just having lunch, maybe some cocktails, and peanuts if they were feeling fancy. The spread she was currently looking at was more akin to one for an actual party. Several bowls of chips with dips and salsa, popcorn, pretzels and peanuts, bottles of soda and wine, cans of beer and to Santana's amusement, piles of candy, lined the table.
"Did I go overboard?" Theo asked, "Quinn just said to get snacks, I didn't really know what was good so I got it all."
Chuckling, Santana sat next to Brittany.
"Well you could say it's a lot, but Puck will be happy."
"I would have gone for something a little more subtle, to keep up the charade." Quinn said.
"Yeah the banner will definitely give something away." Brittany chuckled.
Above the door hung a multi-coloured banner spelling out 'Congratulations.'
"What are we congratulating him for anyway?" Santana asked.
"Finally getting a girlfriend." Theo said.
Quinn snorted as Brittany and Santana laughed.
"Really?" Santana asked.
"Mmh?" Brittany picked a bowl from beside her on the couch, holding it between her and Santana. Santana gratefully took a handful of peanuts.
"Basically." Quinn giggled.
"He's going to think we're busting his balls." Santana said as she chewed.
"Good." Quinn said, sitting back down.
The door opened suddenly as Puck and Jade came striding in. They both stopped, taking in the decorations and snacks. Jade looked amused, a smile beginning to form on her lips, while Puck took a step back, his eyes narrowing.
Santana gleefully popped another peanut into her mouth.
"What is this?" Puck asked.
"What do you mean?" Brittany asked in a tone that reminded Santana of the outlandish things Brittany used to say in high school. She couldn't help but smirk.
Puck took another step back.
"I mean, what is this?!" He gestured widely around the room.
Brittany cocked her head, frowning.
"Quinn's apartment?" She said slowly.
Jade giggled, taking off her shoes.
"No hold on." Puck caught her arm. "We're not staying." He had a slightly panicked look in his eyes that had Santana wanting to burst out laughing. She caught Quinn's eyes, the two of them having to bite their lips to keep from laughing.
"We are." Jade said, gently pulling her arm free. She took a seat on the free couch and pulled one of the bowls of chips towards her. Puck stayed in the doorway. "Close the door Noah." Jaw clenching, Puck shut the door.
Santana raised her hand, flicking it like a whip imitated the sound of a cracking whip.
"Fuck you!" Puck said angrily, only succeeding in making Santana and Quinn laugh harder.
"Way to put your foot down Noah." Quinn said through her laughter. "Very firm."
"Maybe if you said it with a deeper voice," Santana said, "it wouldn't be so obvious that she's got your balls."
"This is why I didn't want to come here." Puck said, looking pointedly at Jade. She shrugged, more focused on her chips and dip.
"Mommy, they're picking on me."
"Mommy I wanna go home!"
Santana and Quinn mocked.
Theo laughed. Brittany pressed her lips together, a smile just cracking through, which she tried to hide by sipping some wine. Santana wasn't sure she'd ever seen Puck look more sour.
"Hang on." Jade said, holding up a hand. "Am I the mum in this situation?"
"Yeah." Santana said.
"Kinky." Jade smirked. "We haven't tried that yet Noah."
Wine sprayed out of Brittany's mouth before she could clasp her hand over it as everyone burst out laughing.
Puck stood by the door, shaking his head, completely unimpressed.
Santana's ribs were hurting from how hard she was laughing, though she managed to pick some of the napkins on the table to help Brittany clean up.
"Fuck you guys." Puck muttered, turning to walk out.
"Hey wait, Noah wait." Brittany got up, running to cut him off before he could leave. "They're just teasing."
"Which we were prepared for." Jade said.
"Don't be a baby." Quinn said. "You were way worse to us."
"And when you were doing it to me you were actually being mean." Santana reminded him.
"Yeah but this is different." Puck said. "I was a teenager then."
"What about me?" Theo asked. "You only stopped teasing me a year ago."
"Look it's not the same for you guys." Puck threw his hands up. "I was always gonna end up alone, you guys know that. I'm trying to change and all this ribbing is gonna mess with that."
"Bull shit." Santana said. "You're a good boyfriend, and Jade knows who she's with. Right?" She turned to Jade, who nodded.
"You're a loveable douche." Jade said with a smile. "You don't have to pretend to be anything else."
"Wait," Brittany said, "have you been avoiding us for months because you're trying to be a better guy?"
Puck rubbed at the back of his head, looking awkward.
"Yeah I guess…."
"Meaning we bring out the worst in you?" Quinn laughed.
"It sounds stupid now."
"No," Brittany took his hand, "it's not."
"Yes it is." Santana said. "It's really stupid."
"Santana." Brittany looked back, frowning disapprovingly.
"Sorry Britt but it's true."
"Yeah well I'm just trying not to mess this up alright?!" Puck snapped. "I don't need her hearing what an ass I am, and how unbelievable it is that she's with me from you guys all the time. I love her! So sue me for trying to be someone she deserves."
Santana blinked dumbly, staring at Puck with a feeling of shock.
Jade looked up sharply, a chip piled with guacamole stopped hallway to her mouth.
"Holy cow." Quinn said, staring at Puck. "I never thought I'd see the day-"
"I love you too." Jade blurted out.
Santana felt her mouth drop open as Puck's face split into a grin.
"Really?" He asked tentatively, like he was afraid she would change her mind.
"Yeah." Jade stoop up, wiping her hands on her jeans. "For a while now."
Brittany's bottom lip was pouting heavily, her hands clasped together as she looked between Puck and Jade, like she was watching the cutest thing she had ever seen.
As much as Santana still found it weird to see Puck being so gentle and genuinely sweet with a woman, and even weirder that that woman was Jade, she couldn't help feeling really happy for him right now. Puck, the perpetual bachelor, the self proclaimed lone wolf who always went on about being an untamable stallion, was tearing up because a woman was in love with him.
All through getting married and having kids, Santana never really felt like she was old. Growing up maybe, but not getting old. Right now, as she watched Puck pull Jade into a deep kiss, with Brittany practically bouncing up and down, she felt for the first time like all of them were getting old.
"Damn it." Quinn sighed. "How am I supposed to make fun of that."
Giggling, Jade pulled away from Puck, but took his hand to pull him along with her back to her seat.
"Oh yay!" Brittany beamed, clapping her hands. "That was so cute!"
"Stop it Britt." Puck groaned. "I've never called you and Santana kissing cute."
"That's cause Santana and I kissing isn't cute." Brittany said, rejoining Santana on the couch. "We're hot."
"Which you insisted on telling us multiple times." Santana said, finally finding her voice. "Which is way worse."
"Oh please." Puck scoffed. "You wanted me to be into it so you'd have an excuse to suck Britt's face without being called gay."
"Wait," Jade grimaced, turning to Santana and Brittany. "Do I want to know what we're talking about?"
"Probably not?" Brittany said, cringing.
"It's pretty much what it sounds like." Quinn said.
"It sounds like Santana and Brittany used to make out in front of Puck to turn him on." Theo said.
Santana felt her whole face scrunch up.
"Urgh" She groaned. "Can we talk about something else?"
"Is that actually what you used to do?" Theo asked in disbelief.
"You guys are all closer than I thought." Jade said thoughtfully.
"Some girls would be threatened by that." Santana said. "Their boyfriend being friends with three hot chicks."
"Ha!" Jade laughed. "Maybe if I hadn't heard you all call him various versions of disgusting basically every day for the ten plus years I have known you."
"Fair enough." Santana chuckled.
"Anyway." Brittany said, picking her glass of wine. "Teasing aside, we really are happy for you guys."
"Yeah." Quinn said.
"Thanks." Puck said, giving a small smile.
"Seriously," Quinn went on, "congratulations on finally getting a girlfriend Noah."
It was actually painful for Brittany to keep her thoughts to herself as she watched Ryan and Kaycee dance. She had so many suggestions for improvement, but she wasn't allowed to give them. Santana had pointed out that the judges wouldn't know that she had helped them once or twice, but Brittany would know, and so would Ryan and Kaycee, and if they won it wouldn't feel earned. So Brittany pressed her lips together, reminding herself that she'd entered them into this competition so they could learn, not necessarily so they could win. In fact she thought it was very unlikely that they would win.
When they finished, Brittany clapped dutifully, taking time to think of how best to get them to see their mistakes without really telling them what they were.
"That was good." Kaleb said.
"Thank you." Ryan said, breathing heavily.
"Brittany?" Kaycee asked, looking at her expectantly.
"Yeah." Brittany nodded. "I agree it was good."
Ryan and Kaycee high fived.
"But um…what's it about?"
"What?" Ryan asked.
"What's the story you're telling?"
He frowned. "Um…I don't know."
Brittany nodded. It was obvious that the piece had no real story.
"Do you think it should have one?" She asked, so at least she could tell herself that it was their decision.
"I…." Ryan looked at Kaycee. "We don't have a lot of time to change the choreography."
"That's true."
"So…?" Kaycee asked, wringing her hands in front of her.
Brittany shrugged. "If you're happy with it as is, like Kaleb said, it's good." She stood up. "But we have three days before we go to France, and Kaleb and I have come up with routines with less time right?"
"Too right." Kaleb nodded.
"Either way, good job guys." She high fived them both. "Go have lunch."
Looking slightly disappointed and very confused, Ryan and Kaycee walked out.
"Do you think they'll do it?" Kaleb asked.
"I don't know," Brittany said, "but they'll feel so proud of themselves if they do."
"Mmh" Kaleb grunted. "Anyway, wanna grab lunch together?"
"Sorry, I have to go home. I promised Santana I would help her pack."
"Oh I forgot you're leaving today. Are your kids feeling any happier about it?"
"Nope." Brittany shook her head. "Every day, every single one of them complains."
"They'll get over it when they're actually in Lima."
"Hopefully."
Truthfully, Brittany wasn't so sure her kids would be quick to forgive her for dumping them in Lima. All of them made a point of telling her how unfair it was that they weren't even given a choice if they wanted to go, a point that she and Santana had agreed in the safety of their room, was actually valid. Unfortunately, there was no other option. They couldn't come to France with her, because she would be at the competition all day every day, and honestly did not want to have to try entertain them, and they couldn't stay in San Jose because Quinn just had a baby and Puck kept traveling back and forth to L.A.
In Lima there were plenty of people happy to take care of them, and as an added bonus, there was no Kevin, so for a few days Brittany's mind could relax.
"Anyway," she sighed, "you'll make sure Mrs Lou is all ready to go by the time I get back?"
"Yup." Kaleb nodded. "Enjoy Lima."
Brittany smiled. "Thanks. See you on Sunday." She picked her bag and left.
As predicted, none of the kids were happy about their impending departure, so much so that they didn't talk the entire way to the airport, all of them sulking heavily. They dragged their feet as they walked through check in and to their terminal, and whined loudly about having to wait an hour for the plane. Brittany let it go on until they were about to board the plane before she had to put a stop to it.
"Will you talk to them?" She asked Santana.
"I've tried." Santana said.
"Try again."
Santana took a deep breath, praying for strength Brittany was sure, then turned to the four kids sitting hunched in their seats.
"Look guys, we get it okay? You don't want to go to Lima-"
"I should come to France with you." Jesús said immediately. "If Ryan and Kaycee are going, they're my best friends, I can stay with them-"
"No you can't." Brittany said. "It's a competition Jesús, there's no time to be with your friends."
"Mami will be there, how come she gets to go." He whined.
"Because I'm also going to be working. I'm going to do interviews."
"It's not fair!"
"I know you think that but we don't have to take you everywhere with us Jesús."
"We could just stay home-" Sophia began, but Santana cut her off.
"Listen." She said sharply, clearly having enough. "You guys are not babies anymore, so you need to stop sulking. You're going to Lima because your grandparents want to see you. You can be upset about that until we land, but as soon as we get off the plane you are all going to be pleasant, and happy to see them, entiendes?"
Sophia crossed her arms angrily over her chest.
"I'm going to miss the sleepover at Aubrey's." She mumbled.
"Oh no, however will you survive?" Santana rolled her eyes. Brittany smacked her arm. "I can't." Santana said quietly, shaking her head. "I'm going to get some coffee."
Brittany watched her walk away for a moment.
"Guys," she said, "imagine if your grandparents saw how miserable going to see them made you. Do you think they'd feel good?"
Jesús and Kyler shook their heads, Sophia continued to frown stubbornly, and Mateo began to pout.
"They miss you guys. Besides you're only going to be there for a week and a half. You can have sleepovers and go to birthday parties when you get back."
When none of the kids said anything to this, Brittany leaned back in her chair, sighing.
"Like mami said, once we land in Lima we expect you to have fixed your attitudes, okay?"
"Okay." Jesús, Kyler and Mateo mumbled.
"Sophia?"
"Fine." Sophia said.
Brittany pressed her lips together, trying not to lose her temper. This was going to be a long three days.
To their credit, the kids did a good job acting happy when they arrived and Santana's parents picked them from the airport. It started rocky, with them giving short one handed hugs and one word answers to anything they were asked, but after Santana pinched Kyler's arm they all put much more effort into it.
Luckily, it was already past six o'clock, so they didn't have to pretend for long. They had dinner with Santana's parents, and were in their hotel room by eight. All the kids went into their room and didn't come out.
"Well." Santana said, dropping onto their bed. "Thirteen is looking like a lot of fun."
"We're going to have four teenagers…" Brittany said as she changed into her pajamas. "Four."
"And one of them is Sophia."
Brittany giggled.
"At least tomorrow they'll be with your parents." Santana said. "It's hard to be in a bad mood around them."
"I was thinking maybe I'd take them out to the motocross track before we leave." Brittany said thoughtfully. "It's something they really enjoy, and hopefully it'll lift their spirits."
"Yeah go for it." Santana said around a yawn.
"You're not going to come with us?"
"Actually…" Santana sat up, "If you're going to be out with them, I think I'll go see my abuela."
"Oh." Brittany paused, genuinely taken back by that for some reason.
"Just…since I'm in town….you know? I haven't been to her house in years, I figure I should."
"Yeah." Brittany nodded. "No, I get it. Yeah you should."
"You're sure you're okay with it?"
"Babe if you want to see her, of course I'm okay with it."
And she was. So far Alma had kept to her promise of being nothing but supportive and loving, so Brittany genuinely had no problem with Santana spending some time with her. A part of her was glad that Santana hadn't asked her to go with her, because Brittany had absolutely no desire to ever return to Alma Lopez's house, but another part of her wanted to be there, just to make sure Alma behaved.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"No." Santana shook her head sharply. Brittany frowned.
"Why do you say it like that?"
"Like what?"
Narrowing her eyes, Brittany stared at Santana, trying to read whatever it was she was trying not so say.
Santana sighed, turning away as she got up from the bed.
"You don't want to be there Britt, I know that, and I won't get to see her much since we're only here for three days, so let me just go on my own."
"Okay." Brittany said, deciding not to push.
"I'm going to go take a shower." Santana said, before walking into the bathroom.
"Okay." Brittany said again, though Santana didn't hear it.
The first official day in Lima was spent with the Pierce, and exactly as predicted, the kids could not stay angry in the face of Pierce's energy. On the second day, Brittany took the kids to the motocross track with both their parents and Santana went to visit her abuela.
Somehow the house looked small. Maybe it was because coming here no longer felt so intimidating, but it now just looked like the house of an old lady. She only had to knock once before her grandmother was opening the door for her, smiling wide.
"Santanita come in, how are you?"
"I'm good abuela, how are you? Are you cooking?" She could smell a mixture of smells wafting through the house from the kitchen.
"Si. Arroz con gandules."
"Mmmmh" Santana moaned, moving automatically in the direction of the kitchen. "I haven't had that in ages."
"Good." Her abuela smiled. "You can help me, then you will know how to cook it for yourself."
Her grandmother had just started preparing everything, so Santana quickly washed her hands and they set to work. For forty minutes they chatted as they cooked, first about what a disaster Santana's father was in the kitchen, Santana chimed in with her own stories about Brittany's attempts at cooked in their youth, then they moved on to the most recent neighbourhood gossip, which Santana hungrily listened to. When they were done and all that was left was for the rice to steam for twenty minutes, they moved into the living room, where her abuela put on the tv.
They sat in silence for a while, occasionally commenting on the drama of the telenovela they were watching, but Santana had something she wanted to ask, which was really why she'd wanted to come here, and she couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Abuela?"
"Mmh"
"I…I need your advise."
Alma turned, eyebrows raised.
"Que?"
Santana licked her lips, knowing Brittany would hate that she was giving her abuela this information, but desperately needing to know what she thought.
"My kids are adopted." She said. "You know this."
"Si." Santana wasn't sure if she was just imagining it or if her abuela suddenly looked nervous.
"Well, Sophia and Mateo's birth father, his name is Kevin. He was in jail-"
"For what?!" Alma sat forward, her hands in her lap as she angled towards Santana.
"He was a drug dealer and addict, drove under the influence and got into an accident that killed some people."
"Ai dios!"
"Yeah. Anyway he's out now."
"What?! How?"
"That's what I asked." Santana said, shaking her head. "Good behaviour or something."
"That jail is run by idiots."
"I know." Santana agreed. "And now that he's out….well Brittany and I have been worried that he's going to try get to our kids."
"Mmhh" Alma nodded, looking thoughtful. "This man…he is clearly dangerous."
"Yeah."
"You can't know what he's going to do."
"No we can't, and that's what's scaring us."
"I see." She was quiet for a while, looking off to the side. The timer going off jerked her out of her thoughts several minutes later. She stood up, gesturing for Santana to follow her back into the kitchen. "So what is it you need my advice with? Do you want to kill this man?"
"No." Santana laughed, feeling some of the tension that had been building in the silence leave her body. "No…he reached out to us, asking to talk to Brittany and I."
"Mmh"
"And Brittany completely refused. She says he's just going to keep making requests and we shouldn't grant them."
Alma nodded, moving the pot off the stove and uncovering it. Delicious smelling steam filled the kitchen at once.
"Get me plates nieta."
Santana reached into the cupboard by her head and took out two plates.
"I see her point."
"Huh?"
"Brittany." Alma clarified. "I see why she would not want to indulge any of this man's requests. It may make him think he has power over you."
Her abuela agreeing with Brittany was not something Santana had anticipated.
"What do you think?" Alma asked, as she scooped the food onto one plate.
Santana looked down.
"I don't like being afraid." She said, "And I don't like feeling like I'm powerless."
Her grandmother nodded. "So you want to go meet this man."
"Yeah." Santana said. "I talked to my lawyer and we have a plan, a plan that, if it works, could get him sent back to jail. Then we wouldn't have to worry at all."
"So what do you need my advice for when you already know what you want to do?"
Santana sighed, taking a spoon out of a drawer and scooping some rice.
"Brittany doesn't want to do it, and I don't want to force her to."
Alma studied Santana so intensely that it made her feel uncomfortable.
"What?" She finally asked, distracting herself by taking a bite of food.
"I don't know Brittany very well." Her abuela said. "All I know is how much she loves you and your kids. So I cannot tell you what to do about her, but…" she seemed to be choosing her words very carefully, "I know you, Santanita, and I know that you have never been the kind of girl to sit back while you or your loved ones are attacked. If your instincts are telling you to go see this man, then it may be something to explore again with Brittany."
"She won't do it." Santana said, already shaking her head.
"Not even talk about it?"
"I don't think so."
Alma took her own spoon but hesitated before scooping food.
"I am old," she said, "and in my day, marriage was…not what it is today. It wasn't necessarily about whether or not you loved each other, it was about fulfilling responsibilities. Did the husband provide a home, food, clothing, did the wife cook and clean and raise the children. If so, that was all that really mattered. I didn't have to tell my husband everything I did, and he really didn't want to know." She shrugged. "It's different now. I see that with all of you." She smiled at Santana. "There is an expectation that decisions are made together. That the partner be consulted about everything…." She finally took a bite of food, chewing it slowly.
"So what?…You're saying that's a bad thing?" Santana asked.
"No." Her abuela shook her head.
"You're saying I should go see Kevin without telling Brittany?"
"No, I am just pointing out the differences between our generations."
"That doesn't help me abuela." Santana snapped.
"Santana you already know what you want to do!" Alma said, sounding harsher than she had since Santana had reconnected with her. "You want me to hold your hand while you do it?"
"No." Santana said, feeling a lot like a pouting child.
"You will go see this man, or you won't, either way, it seems to me that the real problem is that you are afraid of talking to your wife."
That seemed to be a theme this year, Santana realised, and she wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe it was precisely because of the year they'd had, already so full of more fighting than was typical for them, that Santana desperately wanted to avoid getting into another one.
You know what people don't believe." She said quietly.
"Que?"
"Brittany can be scary."
Her grandmother smiled, a little too knowingly for someone who hadn't spent enough time with Brittany to see how scary she could be, and patted Santana's arm.
"You're tough nieta, you need someone who is just as tough to handle you, and I suspect that's why you like her."
"Yeah." She chuckled.
"Don't be a coward nieta." Her abuela said, cupping her cheek. "It doesn't suit you."
Santana smiled, taking another bite of rice. She would talk to Brittany about this, she decided. It was hiding things from each other in an effort to protect each other that had caused all the fights they'd had over the last year. Santana would not make that mistake again.
Before they left, Brittany and Santana had drinks with a few high school friends that they hadn't seen since graduation. It was weird when they first met up at Breadsticks, because unlike the glee kids, they hadn't kept in touch at all. All of their friends seemed unable to move past the fact that Santana and Brittany were famous, so that was all they talked about for nearly two hours. Finally though, Turner, who frankly Santana had always liked the most, moved the conversation along to where they should go.
Brittany and Santana didn't have any preference, since they had no idea what night life in Lima was like, so when a club called 'Blue Eden' was suggested, they easily agreed. They all left together, with Brittany and Santana jumping into Turner's car since they didn't know where this club was, which meant they left their car in the parking lot of Breadsticks.
"We'll come get it later." Santana said as they drove.
Brittany raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Will we really be able to drive?"
Santana's eyes widened. "You're planning on getting drunk?"
"Why not?" Brittany shrugged.
"That's the Brittany I know and love." Turner called from the driver's seat. "Glad to see you haven't changed Britt."
Brittany chuckled.
"Wait but what about the kids?" Santana asked.
"They're staying with your parents anyway." Brittany said.
"But we're leaving tomorrow, you know how Sophia will be, she'll want us to go get her."
"Oh come on Santana, loosen up!" Monica said from the passenger seat, craning round to look at her. "I know we're grown ups with kids and all that but let's pretend to be young again tonight."
"Like old times." Turner said, winking at Santana through the rearview mirror.
"We're going to see them tomorrow when we have lunch with my parents," Brittany whispered, "and anyway we told them they're sleeping there. Sophia will be fine."
Okay." Santana said, giving in. "Why the hell not, let's go wild!"
Just from the outside, Santana could tell that Blue Eden was actually a really nice club, nothing like it had existed while she was growing up, that was for sure. On the outside was the typical flashing neon sign, casting the street in its deep blue light. What Santana liked, and found unique, was the collection of neon green and yellow trees decorating the sign.
"I'm sure everything that goes on in there would get us kicked out of the garden of Eden all over again." Brittany said.
"Damn right." Turner said excitedly, parking the car. "Let's go join in the immorality."
They had to stand in line for over thirty minutes before finally getting in, which was actually made fun by the fans that recognized Santana and Brittany. Santana found that while the friends from high school she did keep in contact with, Mercedes, Kurt and Blaine, often tried their best to pretend she wasn't famous, or that they didn't care, it was funny to see how proud Turner, Monica and the rest were to announce that she was famous, and that they knew her before she was famous. It made the conversation with the fans more interesting and the thirty minutes they stood in line feel like nothing.
More than once Kailey suggested that they use Santana's fame to skip the line, and the bouncer seemed more than happy to allow it once he noticed her, but Santana didn't mind waiting. It had been a while since she'd interacted with fans like this, and unlike in the big cities, the people in Lima were pretty chill, so she wasn't worried about being attacked.
When they finally did get in though, she insisted on getting to the VIP section, which wasn't hard, since apparently the manager had already heard she was there. She'd only just walked up to the bar when a man in a black blazer walked up to them.
"Mrs Lopez, welcome to-"
"That's Lopez-Pierce." Turner corrected.
"My apologies." The man said, looking like he was about to bow. "Mrs Lopez-Pierce." He looked at Brittany, who was hanging onto Santana's arm, again looking like he wanted to bow but stopped himself. "We would like to offer you the VIP lounge."
"Oh!" Monica squealed, clutching Santana's other hand. "The perks of knowing someone famous."
"I'm going to assume that means you want me to accept it?"
"Would you rather be in a comfy lounge where we can order drinks without having to fight off a crowd, or left to fend for yourself out here."
"Yeah we accept." Lincoln said to the man. "Show us the way."
He led them through the club to the back, where a very large man in a black t-shirt stood guard. As soon as the bouncer saw the man he stepped aside, letting them walk through to a corridor. There were two doors on either side of the corridor, the man led them to the closest one.
"Here you go." He said as he opened it. "Please enjoy."
"Thanks." Brittany said. Everyone else, including Santana was too busy gawking at the place to reply.
Santana had been to much nicer places both in the U.S and abroad, but something about this place existing in Lima, Ohio just made it seem so much nicer. There were white leather couches all along the walls, with shiny silver tables spaced in front of them. In the corner there was a small bar, without a barman, but Santana suspected he would be arriving soon. What she found most impressive was the giant one way mirror that made up the fourth wall, through which they could see the stage, where the dj was playing his music, and the dancefloor.
"This is so perfect." Brittany said. "We can feel like we're actually clubbing without being pushed around by a drunk crowd."
"But where's the music?" Monica asked, looking around. "I can see speakers…"
True enough there were speakers built into the corners of each wall.
"I'm not sure." Santana said.
But they didn't have to wonder for long. Just as Santana was about to go look for the man that had brought them to this room, music suddenly blasted through the speakers, making them all jump and one person scream.
"Holy fucking shit!" Turner yelled, punching the air several times.
"Yeah that'll make us forget the girly scream you just let out." Lincoln laughed, patting Turner's shoulder.
"I didn't scream." Turner said.
"Sure man." Lincoln nodded, clearly not believing him.
"Excuse me."
They all spun around to see the man in the blazer had returned.
"This is your bartender, Reuben." A skinny man with tattoos all up both his arms saluted them all before making his way to the bar. "You can order anything from him, we have a very wide selection of drinks. The first bottle is on us."
"Oh wow." Kailey said, grinning. "We are so getting wasted tonight."
"Getting wasted?" Santana laughed. "Are we still seventeen?"
"For tonight?" Monica said, "hell yes we are!"
Several hours later, Santana wasn't sure she was going to survive the night, or rather the morning to come. She was so drunk that she was pretty sure the only reason she was still upright was because Brittany was holding her. And if she thought hard, she'd probably say that how Brittany was holding her was too inappropriate for public, but thinking too hard made her feel dizzy, so she didn't try. Instead, she allowed her body to sway to the music, loving the feeling of Brittany pressed against her back, her hands roaming her body, the soft kisses she kept pressing to the side of her neck. Sometimes she was aware enough to recognize the song playing, at which point she would join the others in singing along, but that didn't last long before she was back in Brittany's arms.
"SHOTS!" Lincoln yelled over the music.
"Dude no." Turner said, shaking his head vehemently as Lincoln tried to pull him towards the bar. "We might be pretending but you know we aren't actually seventeen right?"
"We're fucked either way man." Lincoln said. "Tomorrow we might not wake up, so what's the harm in drinking more?"
That logic made a lot of sense to Santana, who locked her fingers with Brittany's and staggered them over to the bar.
"Fuck." Turner said, begrudgingly taking the shot glass being handed to him.
When they all had their shot, Monica held hers out.
"A toast!" She yelled, "to spontaneous reunions!"
"Cheers!" They all shouted, simultaneously draining their shots.
Santana stuck her tongue out, shaking her head as the vodka burned her throat.
"Yuck." She heard Brittany mutter beside her.
"Oh god." Kailey groaned, grimacing. "Bartender give me something sweet."
"Wait, one more." Monica said. The bartender hastily filled all their glasses before any of them could protest. Again, when they al had their shots, she held up her hand. "To Santana Lopez. We always knew you were too good for us."
They all laughed.
"To Santana." Brittany said. The rest echoed her, and they drained their glasses.
"Whoo!" Monica cheered.
"Now give me something sweet." Kailey said, pushing away the shot glass.
"Me too." Santana said.
As she and Kailey waited for their drinks, everyone else went back to dancing. Santana was all too happy to watch Brittany. Even when she wasn't really trying, there was an effortlessness to the way Brittany's body moved, like it moved without her having to think about it. It made her look so sexy, Santana thought as she bit her lip.
"She's still as amazing as ever I see." Kailey said.
"Oh yeah." Santana nodded.
"I wish Lily was here."
"Yeah, it would have been a proper reunion."
The bartender placed a drink on the bar between them, quickly moving on to make the second one.
"You take it." Kailey said. "You're paying after all."
"I'm paying?" Santana frowned. "Monica's the one who suggested we go out."
"But you're rich." Kailey smirked.
Rolling her eyes, Santana took the drink. It was slightly annoying that she was just expected to pay for everything because she was rich, but she was too drunk to get too worked up about it just now.
"Where is Lily actually?" She asked instead.
"She's in Arizona. Got married to an insurance banker or something like that and moved out there a few years ago."
"Wow," Santana thought, "that sounds extremely boring."
"Yeah," Kailey laughed, "but she seems happy."
Santana's eyes widened, realizing she'd spoken out loud. She looked down at her cocktail, wondering if maybe she should stop drinking.
"She had a baby um…two years ago I think."
"Aww nice. Good for her." That was a safe thing to say, she knew. No way to offend anyone by being happy they had a baby. "What about you? Popped any out?"
Kailey's face fell quickly. Crap, Santana thought, how could she possibly have upset her with that question?
"No." Kailey said.
"Um…" Santana wasn't really sure what to say, since she didn't know what was wrong and she didn't trust herself to speak responsibly at the moment. She needed to get back to Brittany.
"I had a miscarriage," Kailey said, "last year. I haven't been ready to try again."
Santana felt her heart sink.
"Oh my god." She said, pulling Kailey into a hug. "Oh my god Kailey I am so sorry, fuck." Given how afraid she had been that Quinn would lose her baby, Santana could imagine how heartbreaking a miscarriage was. It made her so sad to find out that someone she'd once considered a friend had gone through that. Actually it was just sad that miscarriages happened at all. It was so unfair, giving a couple hope like that, the promise of a cute little tiny baby only to wrench that hope away. "God that's so sad." She blubbered, feeling tears spill from her eyes. "I'm so sorry."
"Thanks." Kailey said, pulling out of the hug, which Santana realised had probably gone on for way too long. "It's been hard. So getting to come out and let loose like this is great."
Santana's lower lip trembled. She had to fight the urge to hug Kailey again.
"I'm so glad we could be here for you." She cried. "You were such a good friend, and we're not really friends anymore but the past matters you know? You stayed my friend when you found out I was a lesbian for Brittany-"
"Just for Brittany?" Kailey laughed, sipping the cocktail Santana hadn't even noticed her pick up.
"Nooo!" She wailed. "Not just for Brittany. I wish it was just for Brittany but I had another girlfriend. I'm such a bad wife."
"You cheated on her?" Kailey asked with wide eyes.
Santana stopped crying instantly, frowning at her.
"Fuck no, what the hell kind of question is that."
"Woooooh!"
Santana turned to see Brittany and Monica had jumped onto one of the tables, both having removed their shoes, but only Brittany was missing her shirt.
"She still does that?" Kailey laughed.
"Yup." Santana smirked, as Brittany whipped her hair, dropping into the squats as she waved her shirt. "Yes she does, and thank god cause my wife is so hot."
When they left the club, the sky was getting bright and Santana could not see or walk straight. Monica had completely blacked out, but Turner volunteered to make sure she got home. They all had to call cabs, since they'd forgotten to assign a designated driver, so her father's car, which they'd been using while in town, would be left at Breadsticks till later.
By the time they got to the hotel Santana was on the verge of falling asleep. She was only doing slightly better than Brittany, who even in the cab could not sit up, which was the only thing that kept her from allowing herself to fall asleep; she was going to have to get them both up to their room somehow.
It wasn't easy, but Brittany woke up enough to at least walk. Santana felt like she was fighting herself, and the side that wanted to drop onto the soft carpet lining the corridor to their room and fall asleep was winning. Luckily, Brittany got a burst of energy, managing to get them to their room. They both collapsed on the bed, Santana on top of Brittany, shoes and clothes still on, and fell asleep.
A ringing phone woke Santana up, though she wasn't sure if she'd woken up or died. Her head pounded angrily, her stomach bubbled, threatening to empty last night's contents right there on the bed and her entire body felt like lead. The effort to move and answer the phone actually left her feeling out of breath. Brittany didn't stir beneath her.
"Hello?"
"Hey Santana." Her mother's voice came through the phone. "Are you on the way here?"
Santana frowned. "No."
"Oh…Did you push your flight?"
Her stomach bubbled again, the unpleasant feeling making her squirm. She swallowed thickly.
"No." She said again.
"I don't understand…."
With as much energy as she could muster, Santana gingerly pushed herself off Brittany, rolling onto her back. She pressed her hand to her forehead, shutting her eyes and praying for her head to stop aching so she could think.
"You're going to have to be direct mami."
"You said you were going to come say bye to your kids before your flight."
"Yeah."
"Well….if you didn't move your flight….isn't it in an hour?"
"What!?" Santana sat bolt upright, instantly regretting it. Her head throbbed as her stomach lurched dangerously. The whole room swam before her eyes. "Oh god." She quickly shut her eyes, but it was too late. "Oh crap…"
She launched off the bed, sprinting to the bathroom. She didn't have time to put up the toilet seat, which room service must have closed, so instead she knelt over the bathtub just as she threw up.
As if emptying her guts, rather violently, into a bathtub wasn't bad enough, Santana's head throbbed more painfully than ever, feeling like she was being hit repeatedly with a hammer.
It felt like an eternity before she finally stopped throwing up, and even longer before she could find the strength to move. She crawled back into the bedroom, leaning against the bed and breathing deeply. If this wasn't what dying felt like, Santana imagined death would be the better option.
"Britt." She croaked, tapping Brittany's boot covered foot which was hanging off the bed. "Britt."
She didn't have the energy to shout, so it took a while for her to wake Brittany up.
"Wha…" Brittany groaned.
"We've over slept." Santana told her.
"What?"
"We're going to miss our flight."
Santana felt the bed move, so she assumed Brittany must have sat up.
"Oh god my head…." she said.
"Yup." Santana could relate. She still couldn't open her eyes fully thanks to her aching head.
"Oh gooood Santana….my head."
"I know."
They were silent for a while. Santana knew Brittany was trying to pull herself together, and talking wouldn't help with that.
"What time is it?" Brittany finally asked.
"My mum called, saying we have an hour to our flight, must be half an hour now, so I would say it's three."
"Oh no." Brittany shifted again, "Why didn't you wake me sooner."
"I was puking my guts out."
"Oh." Then in a much softer, much more concerned voice she said, "oh god I think I might throw up too."
"Start making your way to the bathroom now, otherwise you might not make it."
"No. I can't move."
Santana couldn't even bring herself to mock Brittany, since she couldn't move either.
"There's no way we're going to make that flight."
"No." Brittany agreed.
"I'll have to call Eve to see if we can get one tonight."
"Will we make it in time for the flight to France?"
"I don't care." Santana said, slowly moving to lie on the floor, her hand returning to her head. "Going to France feels impossible when there is no way I can even try to get off this floor."
"Yeah." Brittany said slowly. "We'll push the flight to France too, just in case."
"Mh." Santana grunted. "We were going to get there a day early anyway-"
Brittany suddenly jerked, shaking the whole bed. Santana opened her eyes in time to see Brittany diving into the bathroom. She grimaced sympathetically as Brittany gagged into the bathtub as well.
"God, last night was a bad idea." She said, closing her eyes again.
Santana liked France. She'd been there a handful of times and always enjoyed herself. It was a just a nice atmosphere, though Jade thought it was just the effects of people over-romanticizing Paris. Either way, Santana was happy to be back. There was no pastry she had ever tasted on earth as good as the ones in France, and since she would soon be going on tour and not allowed to eat a lot of sugar, she was going to indulge herself.
She also found French interviewers to be more entertaining that American ones. Sometimes the things they said were so blunt they caught her off guard. She liked that. It made the interviews less predictable. Luckily, she didn't have too much work to do. Emma had only booked her for three interviews, which were all on the same day.
Despite what they'd told the kids, she wasn't actually all that busy, and neither was Brittany, since she couldn't do any of the actual choreographing. They spent lazy mornings in small café's drinking coffee and eating pastries, then they would go down to the hotel the competition was at so that Ryan and Kaycee could practice. In the afternoons the kids would perform. Ryan and Kaycee didn't go on until the second day, which they did well in, managing to get through to the semi-finals. They had the third day off, but Ryan and Kaycee wanted to practice, so they went to the hotel with Ryan's mother, who'd come with them to France, while Santana and Brittany roamed around the city.
"I'm glad we didn't bring the kids." Brittany said, as she pulled Santana into an ice cream shop.
"Me too." Santana said. "I started feeling a little bad about leaving them but honestly, with what we have planned for them, we deserve a little time to ourselves."
"Yeah." Brittany agreed. "And it's only a week."
They ordered their ice creams and then went back out to the street, turning down alleys at random.
"If you see any bleeding pregnant women," Brittany said. "Ignore them, otherwise we might end up accidentally having another kid."
"You're not funny." Santana said, narrowing her eyes.
"I'm hilarious." Brittany grinned.
Though she was joking, it reminded Santana of what she needed to talk to Brittany about.
"Let's find somewhere to sit down." She said, paying more attention to their surroundings now.
It didn't take long for them to find a virtually empty restaurant with some plastic chairs around the tables set outside.
"Here." Santana led them there, taking a seat.
"Are you hungry?" Brittany asked curiously.
"No, I just want to sit down."
"Okay."
Brittany seemed happy to sit and watch the street as she ate her ice cream, and for a minute Santana allowed herself to watch her.
"I get why people call it the city of love." Brittany said randomly.
"Oh yeah?" Santana asked.
"Yeah," Brittany nodded, "it's pretty, for one, so it makes everything you do feel more romantic than say in America."
"Like what?"
"Like, if you bumped into someone on that street." She pointed across from them to the street opposite, where a cyclist carrying some flowers was riding past. "Imagine bumping into me for the first time, and there's a man riding by with some flowers, and the wall behind us is pink, and there's all these cute little café's and restaurants lining the street. I mean all you need is some music and you'd be convinced you've met your soulmate."
"Tue." Santana laughed. "Whereas if you bump into someone in San Jose you're more likely to be pissed off."
"Exactly. And if it's at night, don't even get me started, with all the beautiful warm lights….come on!"
"Fair enough B." Santana smiled, reaching out to take her hand. "Does that mean this feels romantic right now?"
"Totally." Brittany smirked, lifting Santana's hand to her lips and kissing it.
Santana almost managed to convince herself not to say what she'd been planning to, not wanting to ruin the obvious good mood that Brittany was in, but she hoped that being in Paris, and their kids being safe in Lima, that Brittany might be more receptive to the idea now. Plus, her grandmother had told her not to be a coward, and the thought of telling her that she still hadn't talked to Brittany was all the motivation she needed. So she took a breath and forged on.
"Babe." She said, squeezing Brittany's hand. "I need to talk to you about something."
Brittany nodded, to show she was listening.
"I've been thinking a lot about Kevin, and I don't think I can be okay with just doing nothing."
Brittany took a deep breath, setting her ice cream down.
"Okay." She said after a moment. "So you want to go meet with him?"
"Yeah, and do what the lawyer said, try and get him on tape saying he's met me before and knew who I was."
"It's dangerous."
"I've done this before." Santana tried to joke, but Brittany was not amused.
"Santana this is not high school. You're not trying to catch some stupid spoiled rich teenager for throwing a slushy. This man is dangerous!"
"I know, I know..." She scooted closer to Brittany. "Sorry, I was kidding."
Brittany clenched her jaw, not replying.
"We'll go with Jessie." Santana suggested. "Then we'll be safe for sure."
"And what if he starts making demands to see our kids?"
"No, we'll tell him that it's the one and only time any of us are ever going to talk to him, and he won't ever get to see our kids. If he calls we just don't respond. But babe, if the plan works he'll be in jail."
"Maybe." Brittany said, pulling her hand out of Santana's. "The lawyer said it might get him thrown back in jail Santana. If it doesn't, we might just piss him off. What if he tries to attack us?"
"Ignoring him could piss him off too." Santana pointed out. "And at least if we meet with him we can tell him face to face how we feel. It could give us some closure."
Brittany shook her head. "I don't have anything to tell him."
Santana pulled her lips into her mouth, refraining from pointing out that Brittany clearly had a lot she would like to tell him.
"I might." She said instead.
"Really?" Brittany asked, her eyebrows raising.
"You know me. I can't pass up an opportunity to tell someone what I think of them." Santana risked joking again, trying desperately to lift the mood. It worked this time, with Brittany cracking a smile.
"Yeah you never could." Her smile faded slowly. "I don't think I can face him Santana."
"Okay…" Santana said. "What if I just go alone?" Brittany's eyes widened dramatically. "With Jessie I mean."
"I can't make you do that alone."
"I can't make you come with me."
They stared at each other for a long moment, before Brittany finally sighed heavily. She scooted closer to Santana, taking both her hands.
"Okay." She said. "If you're telling me you need to do this, okay. I trust you."
Santana smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss to Brittany's lips.
"Thank you." She said.
"Once." Brittany said. "Just one meeting. After that, if it doesn't work and he doesn't go to jail, we stay the hell away from him."
"Deal." Santana said, kissing her again.
It would work. It had to. Then they could get back to their lives.
