A/N: Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Let's 2024 off with a BANG!
ENJOY ; )
Sophia hid squatting behind her grandfather's car, as she had been for the past fifteen minutes. It was so hot she felt like her skin was rubber, and she was pretty sure that her water colours were melting, but it was better than being inside. At least here she could have some time alone, to think about just how much she hated being here. So far she'd managed to do what her mothers made her promise to do. She hadn't shown her grandparents how unhappy she was, she'd smiled and laughed and played all the games her grandfather wanted, but she needed even five minutes to just sulk.
The fact that all her friends were at Aubrey's house right now, eating ice cream or watching movies, just having fun without her, was all Sophia had been able to think of since waking up, and it had put her in a really bad mood. So as soon as she could, she'd come to hide outside, to make sure she couldn't be roped into another game.
Unfortunately, it seemd that her solitary time was about to come to an end. She could hear her grandparents calling her from inside the house. She'd have to go back in eventually, so they didn't get worried. But another ten minutes wouldn't hurt.
So ignoring all the shouts of her name, Sophia went back to her drawing. She was trying to draw the tree by the driveway, with it's large reaching branches and thick green leaves. Not the most exciting thing she'd ever drawn, but then again, she was in Lima. She was unlikely to find anything exciting to do, let alone draw, so the tree would have to do. It was pretty, she could admit that. It gave off an old feeling, like it had been around for centuries. Like it was important. Sophia liked that, which is why she had chosen to draw it. She also wanted to draw the one outside her abuela's house, just because her parents had told her how they used to climb it to get into her mami's bedroom. She wasn't in too much of a rush to draw that one though, at least at her abuela's she had more time to herself.
"Sophia!"
She sighed, moving closer to the car in hopes of remaining hidden, but no luck. Her brother came walking round the car and spotted her.
"Sophia!" He said angrily. "We've been looking for you, didn't you hear us calling?"
"Yeah I did."
"So why didn't you answer?"
Sophia pulled her drawing towards her, focusing on it rather than her brother.
"Because I didn't want you to find me."
"Why not?"
Sophia shrugged. She hoped that if she kept silent, he might leave her alone, and for a moment it seemed that he might, but instead he squatted down next to her, watching her draw.
"Are you still upset we're here?"
"Yeah." She said.
"Yeah, me too."
For the first time Sophia looked up at her brother, wanting to see which one it was. Since arriving in Lima, all her brothers had spent most days without a shirt on, which she really couldn't blame them for considering how hot it was, but it did make it a little harder for her to tell the difference between Jesús and Kyler. Luckily, she'd noticed subtle differences in their faces over the years, which she used in situations like these where they looked even more alike than usual. This was Kyler.
He wrapped his arms around his knees, lowering his voice.
"Me and Nicholai had a whole summer plan. We were going to learn how to skateboard this week. Tia said she was going to buy me a skateboard and everything."
"You were going to do something different every week?"
Kyler nodded before resting his chin on his knees.
"Next week it's a sleepover at our house, cause it's our birthday."
"For the whole week?"
"Yeah."
"And then I go to his house the next week."
"Cool."
"And it's Micah's birthday on Friday, and I'm not going to be there."
"I wish we could have just stayed with Uncle Noah or something." Sophia said bitterly. "Then we'd all be happy. Even Mateo hates it here."
"Jesús doesn't." Kyler said, shaking his head. "He was mad the first day, but now he says he doesn't care."
"Yeah cause he wouldn't be with his best friends even if we were at home." Sophia put down her colour to sit properly on the ground, crossing her legs.
"I guess it wouldn't be too bad if Lima wasn't so boring." Kyler said. "Like motocross is fun, but we can't do that every single day."
"So instead we play stupid games."
"Oh," Kyler's eyes widened, "Poppy was looking for you."
Sophia scowled. "I don't want to play another game. Tell him you never found me."
"Not to play a game," Kyler giggled, "he's taking us to abuela's, to swim."
Swimming was at least something different, and with how hot it was, Sophia actually thought it was a good idea.
"Okay." She said, feeling a little less angry for the moment. "When?"
"As soon as we get ready."
"Okay let's go then." She got up on her knees, putting all the colours back in the box and closing her drawing book. She could sketch the tree later.
Swimming took Sophia's mind off sulking for a good two hours. They played marco-polo, their grandfathers took turns throwing them into the pool and abuela asked Sophia to help her paint her nails, which Sophia was all too happy to do.
But then after lunch Poppy suggested playing tag and Sophia felt her frustration return.
"Are you coming Sophia?"
"No." Sophia said, "I'm the slowest anyway, I always get caught first."
"What if you and I catch together? We can be a team."
"I don't want to play."
"Come on Soph bug, it'll be fun." He smiled, reaching out to pull her up from the couch.
"No Poppy I don't want to play! Just leave me alone!" She yelled, getting up from the couch with every intention of storming away. She was stopped by her abuela's stern voice.
"Qué vergüenza Sophia!" abuela snapped. "How dare you talk to your grandfather like that!"
"But abuela-"
"Apologize right now."
Galring at the floor, Sophia remained stubbornly silent.
"Sophia apologize!" Her abuela repeated.
"Soph…." Jesús said, taking a tentative step towards her. Sophia looked up at him, prepared to tell him to leave her alone too, but the look on his face, and the subtle shake of his head had her changing her mind.
She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Sorry Poppy." She mumbled.
"Louder-"
"It's fine Maribel." Poppy said, holding his hand out. "You don't have to play if you don't want to Sophia."
"Can I go upstairs?" Sophia asked, to no one in particular. It was her gammy that told her she could. She wasted no time in turning and leaving. She went to her mami's room, feeling like she wanted to scream. Staring at the picture on the dresser, of her mothers as teenagers in their cheerleading uniforms, Sophia felt tears fill her eyes. She was so mad at them for bringing her here. For just leaving her here when they knew she didn't want to come. For a second she felt the strong urge to throw the picture against the wall, just so they could stop smiling at her.
The door opened slowly, and for a second Sophia was scared it was her abuela coming to yell at her, but then she saw Jesús' head poking in.
"Is it safe to come in?"
She rolled her eyes, dropping onto the bed.
"What do you want Jesús?"
"Actually it's both of us." He walked in, Kyler trailing behind him.
"What do you both want then?"
"Just…" Kyler sat beside her. "Are you okay?"
"No!" Sophia almost shouted. "I want to go home!"
"It's just three more days." Jesús said. "Mama said they didn't get past semi finals, so they're leaving early."
"Oh man, they lost?" Kyler asked sadly. "Do they feel bad?"
"No they-"
"They didn't even win?" Sophia asked, glaring. "So they went there for nothing?"
"That's not nice." Jesús said, frowning. "It was their first time choreographing. Mama said it was more for the experience than to win."
"The whole reason we're here is because they had to compete, and they lost. That means it was for nothing. I missed Aubrey's sleepover for NOTHING!"
"We're here because gammy asked for us." Jesús said, clearly getting angry himself. "Don't blame Kaycee and Ryan."
"I'll blame whoever I want!" Sophia yelled. "If they hadn't come to San Jose mama wouldn't have gone to France-"
"And we would still be here because Gammy asked for us!" Jesús yelled back.
"But at least mums would be here and they know what we like doing. We wouldn't be so bored."
"You're the only one who's bored." Jesús said. "Because you just like being a negative Nancy."
"I do not!"
"Do."
"Do not."
"Do."
"Stop saying that, I do not!"
"Poppy's been trying so hard to make sure we have a good time and you just want to sulk all the time."
"I'm not sulking."
"We all have to be here, whether we want to be or not." Kyler said, stepping between the two of them to cut off their argument, "so maybe if you just tried to have a good time Soph….you wouldn't be so angry."
"When mums hear you yelled at poppy you're going to be in so much trouble." Jesús said.
"And who's going to tell them?" Sophia said, narrowing her eyes at him. "You?"
Jesús shook his head. "Course not. But gammy probably."
"Or abuela." Kyler said.
"Or Niki."
"Oh yeah Niki." Sophia rolled her eyes. "He'll probably tell them as soon as they arrive." She sighed. "I didn't mean to yell at him," she said quietly.
"I get it." Jesús sat on her other side, draping his hand over her shoulders. "I lose my temper a lot too."
"But you know they'll all forgive you if you show them you're sorry." Kyler said.
"How do I do that?"
Both boys shrugged.
"Play tag?" Jesús suggested.
Sighing once again, Sophia nodded solemnly.
"Fine." She said. "I'll play one round."
"Then you can say you have a headache or something." Kyler said, grinning.
So maybe tag wasn't that bad. Abuelo kept getting so excited, he would yell out whenever anyone was about to get caught, practicaly jumping up and down, which made the game a lot more intense. Sophia didn't even mind when she got caught and was 'it' for what felt like half an hour, because as promised, Poppy switched to her team and helped her catch everyone else. Then he made it even more fun by throwing everyone in the pool whenever he caught them.
Sophia was laughing hard, watching her brothers scramble and fight not to be thrown into the pool, squealing and begging. Her abuelo was cheering Poppy on, shouting for him not to have mercy, and abuela and gammy were standing off to the side, taking pictures. In that moment Sophia felt really bad for shouting at her grandfather. Kyler was right, he was just trying to make sure they had a good time and she shouldn't have reacted that way. She would need to apologize properly.
Poppy clumsily dropped Mateo, who he'd been holding over his head, into the pool, nearly falling in himself, which made Sophia laugh even harder.
"Poppy!" She laughed, walking towards him.
He stumbled, still trying to catch his balance she guessed.
"Don't fall in too Poppy."
"We're gonna get you poppy!" Kyler said, swimming to the edge of the pool to pull himself out.
"They're gonna push you in!" Sophia exclaimed, pointing at Jesús, who was running towards their grandfather with a look of determination.
But poppy didn't turn to look, or run away. He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest.
"Poppy?" Sophia called, walking just a little faster.
All her other grandparents had stopped laughing, rushing forward. Sophia immediately knew something was wrong.
"Pierce?" Gammy was shouting, "Pierce what's wrong?"
"His chest," Abuelo said. "Pierce sit down."
"I just need….I just need to catch my breath." Poppy said, trying to stand up. Abuela put a firm hand on his shoulder, glaring at him.
"I said sit down!"
Abuelo looked scary, and gammy was crying. Sophia subconsciously backed away.
"What's happening to Poppy?" Mateo asked, walking up to Sophia, dripping from head to toe.
"I don't know."
"Is he dying?"
Sophia felt a lump form in her throat, tears prickling her eyes. Poppy very well could be dying, she had no idea. All the grown ups seemed scared, which told her that whatever was happening was very bad.
"What happened?" Kyler and Jesús joined her and Mateo.
Sophia couldn't answer. She stared wide eyed as Abuelo sent abuela into the house for something, yelling at gammy to call 911. Poppy was still clutching his chest, breathing quickly and heavily.
Sophia's heart was racing.
"Is Poppy dying?" Mateo asked again.
"No." Jesús said. "Poppy can't die."
"He looks like he's dying." Mateo said in a small voice.
"Well he's not." Kyler said, pulling Mateo into his side. "He's going to be fine."
Sophia wasn't so sure, not with the panicked look on abuelo's face or the frantic way gammy was talking to 911, or the tears in her abuela's eyes.
She felt a tear role down her own cheek. All she could do was stare wanting her mothers with a painful ache in her chest.
"Is my phone ringing?" Brittany said, lifting up just enough to prop herself on her elbows so she could see over the couch into the bedroom where her phone was ringing.
"I didn't hear anything." Santana said from beside her.
Brittany squinted her eyes, trying to listen, but now she couldn't hear it anymore.
"Lie down, I'm cold." Santana whined, pulling Brittany back down. Brittany didn't resist, letting her body drop down next to Santana's.
"Mmhhh," Santana hummed, "better."
Brittany turned onto her side, so she was facing Santana, scooting down so their faces were level and she could look right into Santana's eyes.
"We should probably order dinner before the kitchen closes."
"I'm not hungry."
"I told you not to eat that cake." Brittany giggled.
Santana stuck her tongue out cheekily. Brittany jerked forward quickly snapping her teeth, which made Santana jump back, pulling her tongue back into her mouth. She nearly fell off the couch, having to grab on to Brittany to keep from rolling off.
"Brittany!" She screamed. Laughing, Brittany pulled her back from the edge with a hand on her waist. "What was that? Were you gonna bite my tongue?"
"Maybe?" Brittany giggled. "Wouldn't be the first time."
Santana buried her face in Brittany's neck, shaking it. "You're such a weirdo."
"But you love me." Brittany said, pushing her hand under Santana's pajama top and rubbing her back.
"A lot." Santana said, placing a soft kiss on Brittany's neck. "I love you a lot Britt."
"I love you too."
Then Brittany heard it again, the muffled ringing of her phone. She looked down at the way Santana was curled around her, and hated the thought of disturbing her, but Ryan and Kaycee were still at the hotel where the competition was being held, and she'd told them to call her if they needed anything. So she at least had to make sure it wasn't them.
"Babe…."
"Nooo" Santana groaned, "I'm too comfortable."
"I can get up, answer my phone and order dinner, then we won't have to get up again."
"I'm not hungry."
"Santana you can't eat cake for dinner." Brittany laughed, lightly scratching her back. "I'll be quick I promise."
"No." Santana said stubbornly.
Brittany loved it when Santana got clingy like this. It was so different to how she usual was, so freaking cute, that it made her want to wrap Santana up and never let her go. So Brittany decided to roll with it.
She stood up, scooped Santana up into her arms in one swift motion and picked her up. Santana giggled, wrapping her arms around Brittany's neck to keep from falling.
"Get on my back." Brittany said.
Santana easily complied, moving gracefully, with Brittany's help, till she was perched securely on Brittany's back, with her legs wrapped around her waist.
"Good?" Brittany asked.
"Yeah." Santana said gleefully, kissing Brittany's cheek. "Let's go." She bounced a few times. "Giddy up!"
Brittany wasn't sure what had Santana in such a playful mood, but she loved it. She was glad they'd decided to come to France together. She hadn't realised how much they needed it, but with everything that had happened that year, having a few days where they didn't have to worry about their kids or Santana's album and they could just relax in each other's company was more perfect than Brittany could have imagined. It gave them a chance to really reconnect, which was probably why Santana was so clingy.
She didn't bother turning on the lights when she walked into the room. She knew exactly where her phone was and that was all she needed. She picked it from the bed, pulling it off the charger.
"Oh it's Ash."
"Tell her we'll call back tomorrow."
"My mum called too…" Brittany frowned, wondering if something had happened with their kids.
"Are the kids okay?" Santana asked, looking down at the phone over Brittany's shoulder.
"She hasn't left a message."
"Call her back."
"Okay." Brittany pressed dial and held the phone up to her ear.
Ashley picked up after just one ring.
"Hey-"
She was cut off by Ashley's hysterical rambling.
"Wait, wait…slow down. You're at the hospital? Why?"
"Dad's had a heart attack." Ashely said more slowly, sounding like she'd been crying for hours.
"Dad…" Brittany's heart dropped. Her one hand, which was holding Santana's thigh to keep her up, moved to clutch her stomach, feeling like she'd been punched in the gut.
Santana seemed to sense something was wrong, even though she hadn't heard. She slowly slid off Brittany's back, moving to stand beside her.
"What's wrong baby?"
Brittany blinked, a numb feeling spreading over her body. She didn't even notice her phone falling to the floor.
"Britt, what's happened?"
"My dad just had a heart attack."
Santana felt an odd sense of clarity washing over her the second she'd processed what Brittany had said. Scared as she was for Pierce, she knew that Brittany wasn't going to be able to do what needed to be done in this moment. Probably not for a few days. She was going to have to step up, she could see it in the vacant look in Brittany's eyes, like she was looking but not actually seeing anything.
"Baby," Santana said gently, "what did she say exactly? Is he okay?"
After several seconds, Brittany slowly shook her head.
Santana's heart stopped. Was Pierce dead? She couldn't read from Brittany's expression. She looked stunned, like her world had just collapsed, which would be an appropriate reaction if her father was dead.
"She just said he'd had a heart attack…." Brittany said in a monotone.
"Okay." Santana said, forcing herself to breathe so she didn't start to panic. "I'm going to call her and find out exactly what happened, okay?"
Brittany simply blinked, like she hadn't heard anything Santana had said.
"Okay." Santana said to herself. Her phone was back in the 'living room' area where they'd been lying earlier, so she rushed out to get it, dialing Ashley's number as she returned to the room. Brittany hadn't moved an inch. "Crap." Santana muttered.
"What?" Brittany asked, looking up sharply.
"Nothing, sorry, nothing. Ashely's line is just busy."
Brittany sighed in relief, dropping to sit on the bed, her head falling into her hands.
Biting her lip, Santana called Susan instead, but like Ashley, her line was busy. She assumed they were talking to each then. With no options left, she called her dad.
"Papi, Pierce has had a heart attack." She said as soon as her dad had picked up. "Can you go see-"
"I'm already here nena."
"What? Where?"
"At the hospital."
"Oh they called you?"
"No I was there when it happened. He was at our house."
"Oh okay. Well…" She was almost scared to ask, but she needed the answer in order to know how to proceed. "How is he?"
"He's going to be fine." Her dad said, like he knew that was the first thing Santana needed to hear. Santana immediately felt the tension in her stomach loosen. "It's lucky I was there I think. He fainted, but his heart never stopped. I gave him an asprin and we got him here in time, they're running some tests now, but he's fine."
"Thank god." Santana breathed, sending out a silent prayer. None of them would be able to take Pierce dying.
"He woke up in the ambulance, has been talking ever since."
Santana stood in front of Brittany, gently touching her arm. "Baby he's okay."
Brittany looked up, her whole face red with wide eyes that made her look so vulnerable.
"He's okay?" She asked in a weak voice.
Santana moved closer to her, so Brittany's knees pressed into her legs.
"He's okay. My dad says they're running tests, but he's awake and talking."
"Oh my god." Brittany sobbed, her entire body crumbling. She slumped forward, like she just couldn't take the effort of holding herself up anymore. Santana caught her, her free hand holding Brittany against her stomach.
"Papi I'll call you back."
"Santana-"
"I have to go, I'll call you back."
She hung up, throwing the phone onto the bed so she could wrap Brittany in her arms properly. She moved forward, between Brittany's legs, and cradled her head.
"He's okay my love, he's okay."
Brittany's arms circled Santana's waist weakly, her face pressed into her stomach as she cried convulsively. Santana's heart broke, feeling Brittany shake against her, feeling the force of her tears and the painful sound of Brittany repeating 'oh my god' over and over again in a strained high pitched voice.
All Santana could do was hold her, stroking her hair, telling her Pierce was okay as many times as she needed to hear it.
Eventually Brittany's tears softened, and she felt better enough for Santana to let her go. Santana crouched down, cupping Brittany's face. Her eyes were blood shot and puffy, her nose red and running, but her eyes at least seemed to regained their life.
"Oh honey…" She cooed, gently brushing the tears from Brittany's face.
"I thought he was dead." Brittany croaked.
"I know love, I know."
Brittany let out a long breath, one hand gently holding Santana's arm. "God, I thought he was dead."
"I know." Santana nodded. She kissed Brittany softly, both to comfort her but also to comfort herself. There were few things in the world Santana hated more than seeing Brittany crying. "But he's okay."
"Yeah."
Santana kissed Brittany again before standing straight.
"I'm going to call Eve to see when the earliest flight we can get out of here is."
"Okay." Brittany sniffed. "I'm gonna go blow my nose. Urgh." She groaned.
"Are you okay?"
"I feel so drained."
"Yeah, that makes sense though. That was a lot."
Brittany sniffed again. "God, I need a drink." She chuckled. It was weak and airy, but it made Santana's heart soar just seeing her smile.
"I'll get you something strong." She said, bending over to get her phone. "And order food so you don't get drunk."
"Thanks, but book the flight first."
"Okay."
Taking a deep breath, Brittany looked around for her phone.
"Let me call my mum."
They were on a flight first thing the next morning, which to Brittany felt too late. Santana had called Mrs. Lou, Ryan's mother, letting her know that they had an emergency so were leaving early and wouldn't be around for the remaining two days. Brittany hadn't been able to care about that. She'd spent most of the night on the phone with her mother, and even had a chance to talk to her dad, which had settled her nerves magnificently, but the anxiety creeped back in with every hour they stayed in France. It also didn't help knowing that even once they were on the plane they still had a fifteen hour flight to endure before she could see her dad. She wished she could teleport to Lima, just to see for herself that her dad was okay.
Finally, they arrived in Lima, but the flighty feeling that had taken Brittany over when they boarded the plane had only gotten worse as they got off. She felt like a spooked deer, or frightened rabbit; like at any moment she would just take off, sprint far away and never look back. Santana seemed to sense her fragile state, because in the last twenty hours Brittany was pretty sure Santana hadn't let go of her hand once. Every so often she would brush her thumb over the back of Brittany's hand, or lift it to her lips, pressing several kisses to the back of it, but she never once let it go, and that was somehow giving Brittany the strength to keep moving.
The drive to the hospital felt more foreboding than Brittany was prepared for. She knew her father was alive, she'd talked to him after all, and yet the closer they got to the hospital, the more afraid she became that he wouldn't be alive when she got there.
"Britt…" Santana said gently, gripping her hand just a little tighter.
"Mmh" Brittany grunted absently, staring hard out the window, sure that if she looked at Santana for even a second she would descend into tears again, which she really needed to not do. The last thing she wanted was to show up at the hospital crying. It would just put more stress on her dad.
"He's alright." Santana said.
"I know." Brittany said quickly.
Santana gripped her hand tighter still.
"You might know it, but I know you don't feel it."
"I just need to see him." Brittany admitted. "Once I see him, everything will be okay."
"But B," She scooted forward in her seat, trying to catch Brittany's eye, "everything is okay."
"Right…." Brittany nodded, but continued to stare out the window.
She heard Santana sigh quietly, before sitting back.
Everything wasn't okay though. Her father had a heart attack and she hadn't been there. He'd had a heart attack and nearly died, and more than a day later Brittany still hadn't seen him. It was so wrong it made Brittany stomach churn. Her father had always been there for her, for every big or small issue, tantrums she threw as a toddler, high school drama, all the love and heart ache she'd gone through. There to cheer her up or make her laugh. Not to mention the way he showed up for all her motocross competitions and dance performances and cheerleading tournaments and glee competitions. He had been such a solid, supportive figure in Brittany's life, someone she knew without a doubt she could always go to, always rely on.
And now when he needed her, the one time he needed her, she wasn't there for him. It made Brittany feel sick.
So nothing was okay, despite what Santana said.
"Britt did you hear me?"
Brittany blinked rapidly, realizing she'd completely zoned out.
"What?" She asked.
But Santana didn't repeat whatever it was she had said, instead she pushed on Brittany's shoulder, turning her from the window so she could see her face.
"Are you tired?" She asked.
Brittany frowned. What kind of question was that? How could she possibly be tired when her father was lying in a hospital bed?
"Maybe we need to get some coffee or something to eat-"
"I'm not doing anything until I see my dad." She snapped, turning back to the window. It came out a little harsher than she intended, but seriously, how could Santana be thinking of coffee at a time like this? Did she really think that Brittany would waste even ten minutes to get coffee when her father had just had a heart attack.
"Baby," Santana said, sounding apprehensive but determined. Brittany fought not to snap at her again. "It's nearly ten o'clock, we haven't eaten since…" she paused, and Brittany knew why. They hadn't ordered dinner at the hotel, it was what she'd been planning to do after calling Ashely back. Of course after getting the news about her father, and the violent way she'd cried in Santana's arms, thoughts of food had completely slipped both their minds. They'd rushed to the airport at five in the morning and since then Brittany couldn't really say she'd had an appetite, least of all for airplane food. So it had been twenty four hours since she or Santana had eaten.
But she just couldn't care about that right now.
"I'm not hungry." She mumbled.
Thankfully, Santana let it go.
They didn't talk the rest of the drive, which Brittany was grateful for because the closer they got to the hospital the more convinced she became that her father would be dead when she got there. She kept checking her phone to make sure that no one had called her, knowing they would if anything changed, but the silence from her mother and sister didn't really help to ease her worry much.
When they did finally arrive at the hospital, Brittany had to fight hard not to just run right in. They had to take all their suitcases out and pay the taxi before she could finally go in.
"I'm here to see my dad," She said at the reception desk, "he came in with a heart attack yesterday."
"What's his name?"
"Pierce-uh Ryan Pierce."
"Okay one moment."
It was so weird to say her father's first name. He never used it, not in any situation, so much so that most people believed he was called Pierce Pierce. He always said he found it so amusing to see people's confusion when he introduced himself like that, and he'd never found a reason to stop. Using his first name now was just one more thing about this whole situation that was so very wrong.
"Ah yes, Pierce, Ryan. He's been admitted for twenty four hour observation."
"Is he okay?" Brittany rushed out, pressing herself against the counter as she felt suddenly panicked.
"Yes, it's typical with heart attacks or chest pain to admit the patient for a period, to make sure they're all clear."
"Okay." Brittany sighed.
"Where can we find him?" Santana asked, taking a step closer to Brittany.
The lady behind the desk hesitated. "You are…?"
"My wife." Brittany said.
"Oh." The lady's eyebrows rose. "Sorry. Um…He's on the second floor, room 137."
"Thank you." Brittany said, already moving towards the elevator. Santana pulled her back by their still joined hands.
"Wait we need to-"
"WHAT?!" She yelled, throwing her hands up and for the first time disconnecting their hands. "What on earth could we need to do that's more important than seeing my dad?" She asked angrily, imagining Santana was about to bring up coffee again.
"Our bags." Santana said evenly, stepping aside and pointing to the bags behind her. "We need somewhere to put our bags."
"Oh…" Brittany felt a wave of guilt wash over her, realising she'd just shouted at Santana in a room full of strangers.
"It's fine, you go, I'll sort this out."
"No," She took a step back towards Santana. "I'll help you-"
"Britt" Santana cut her off, "go see your dad, I'll come when I'm done." She turned towards the bags, clearly not willing to discuss it any further.
Brittany was reluctant to leave, but she really needed to see her father, just see him sitting up and talking, to get the horrible image of him lying on the floor clutching his chest out of her head.
"Okay." She finally said. "See you in a bit then."
She turned and walked briskly towards the elevator.
Tears sprung to Brittany's eyes the second she opened the door to her father's hospital room. He was standing by the bed, stretching his arms up to the ceiling. He dropped them as soon as Brittany walked in.
"Britt-Bee!" He said happily, a huge smile taking over his face. In contrast, Brittany's face crumpled as she began to cry. "Oh honey."
"Daddy…" She sobbed, rushing to hug him. It was more comforting than Brittany ever could have imagined, to be wrapped up in her father's arms, his hug as fierce and protective as ever.
"I'm okay honey-B I promise."
"I was so scared." She confessed, her own arms tightening around him.
"I'm sorry I scared you, but I'm okay, see?" He tried to pull back but Brittany refused to let him go.
"Just a few more minutes please." She said, tucking her head into his chest. She felt him relax, his chin coming to rest on the top of her head as he nodded.
"Sure Britt-bee, we can stay like this as long as you want."
It was indeed a few minutes before Brittany was able to let her dad go, but she didn't let him go far. Her mother made him climb back into bed, and Brittany promptly climbed in next to him. He threw his arm round her shoulder and she settled against him, cuddling into his side.
"If I knew all I had to do was have a heart attack to get my little girl back I would've-" He stopped abruptly as both Brittany and her mother glared at him. He cleared his throat. "Uh…I never would've done it because that's not funny at all."
"Damn right." Susan said, moving into the seat by the bed.
"You're really okay?" Brittany asked, her eyes searching his face.
"Right as rain." Her dad said, kissing her forehead. "Like nothing ever happened."
"Pierce…." Susan said quietly but sternly.
"What?"
"Don't lie to her."
"I'm not lying Susan dear-"
"Brittany may be your little girl but she's not a child."
They stared at each other, clearly having a battle of wills.
"What dad?" Brittany asked when her dad didn't speak. She felt him let out a heavy breath.
"I am fine," he started. Brittany held her breath, waiting for the 'but' she knew was coming. "But they said one of the…what did they call it….pipes?"
"Valves." Susan told him, with an amused head shake.
"Pipes sounds better." He whispered to Brittany.
"What about it?" Brittany asked, unable to joke with her father at the moment.
"Well they sad it's weak. It's thinner than it should be or something, which is why I've been running a little slow lately."
Brittany thought back to their camping trip, when she'd noticed how tired her father was getting, how he was getting out of breath faster and couldn't keep up with her kids anymore and silently cursed herself. She should have known something was wrong. If she'd paid proper attention she could have stopped this from happening at all.
"But don't worry." Her dad said, squeezing her with the arm round her shoulder. "The doctors said I'm fine, and in great shape. I just need to do a little bit of cardio a couple times a weak, and eat more heart healthy foods to strengthen my heart."
"Cardio?" Brittany asked skeptically. "Wouldn't that strain your heart more?"
"Light stuff." Susan said. "Power walking, swimming, but that's all after his cardiac rehab."
"What's that?"
"He'll be working with a specialist for a few weeks, who will guide him in exercises he can do while his heart is still healing."
"Mmhh like physical therapy?"
"Yeah."
"So he doesn't need surgery?"
"No." Pierce said with a firm head shake. "No one is cutting me open."
"For now."
"For now?" Brittany asked, alarmed, "What does that mean?"
"It means if he still gets shortness of breath and fatigue, we might have to come back-"
"Susan please." Pierce said. "There's no reason to believe I won't make a full recovery, and with my diet changes, I should be fine. I will be fine." He said with conviction.
Brittany bit her tongue, not wanting to bring her dad down with the many 'what if' scenarios running through her head. A positive attitude would probably help his recovery anyway. She and her mother could talk later.
"It's funny though, I'm in here for a heart attack and they give me jell-o." Her dad pointed at the red jell-o cup sitting on the table beside the bed. "Must be good for me right?"
Brittany chuckled.
There was a gentle knock on the door that drew all their attention. Her mother got up to answer it.
"Oh Santana." Susan said, very obviously surprised.
"Santana!" Pierce boomed, jostling Brittany as he sat up. Brittany cringed internally at her father's enthusiasm, thinking that he was really not behaving like a man who had just had a heart attack.
"Hi…" Santana said, walking in dragging two suitcases. Brittany quickly got off the bed to help her with them. A nurse came in after her, dragging two more. "Sorry I'm late I was trying to find somewhere to put all our stuff. They said I just had to bring it to the room."
"Not a problem." Pierce said, getting out of bed as well. He didn't make it far though. Susan slapped her palm down on the bed, making them all jump.
"Sit down Pierce, I won't tell you again."
Shamefaced, Pierce climbed back into bed. Susan let out a sharp breath.
"Santana dear." She hugged her. "I didn't know you were here. Thank you for coming."
"Of course." Santana said, taking off her jacket as she made her way to Pierce. "Of course I came. Are you okay?"
"Like I told Britt-bee, I'm right as rain."
Brittany saw her mother roll her eyes.
"That's good. Thank god." Santana bent and hugged Pierce. "Don't scare us like that Papa P. We still need you."
"I don't plan on leaving my girls any time soon honey-S, don't worry."
Chuckling at the old nickname, Santana pulled back.
"Where's Ashley?"
"We sent them home for the night. She'd been here all day, barely slept last night or eaten."
Santana's eyes flicked briefly to Brittany.
"We only got her to leave by reminding her you'd be arriving soon." Susan said, "Otherwise she wouldn't hear of it."
"I get it." Brittany said quietly.
"I'm supposed to be taking care of you girls, not the other way around." Pierce said.
"We're not the ones lying in a hospital bed after almost dying." Brittany retorted.
Her mother frowned at her, her father tensed beside her, as if she'd slapped him.
"How's the gown treating you Pierce?" Santana asked with a smirk, breaking the rapidly thickening tension.
"Oh you know, keeping all my no, no parts nice and cool."
Santana and Brittany laughed, Susan slapped playfully at Pierce's arm, retaking her seat.
"Oh Pierce, come on!" She said, shaking her head.
"Sorry dear." He said, smiling cheekily.
Brittany could tell Santana was proud of herself for getting everyone laughing again. She held her hand out, a silent signal for Santana to come closer. When she did, Brittany wrapped her arm around her waist.
"Sorry for shouting at you downst-"
Santana shook her head, her hand smoothing lovingly over Brittany's hair.
"I understand. It's fine."
Brittany titled her head up, asking for a kiss, which Santana happily gave.
"Have you seen the kids?" Susan asked.
"No." Brittany said, turning to her mother. "We came straight here from the airport."
"They are here." Her mother said with a confused frown.
"Where?" Santana asked.
"They've been in here all day, but your parents just took them to the cafeteria."
"They were in here with you all day?" Brittany asked. "But I thought you said dad's been asleep mum?"
"He was."
"Stubbornness must be a Pierce trait because like your sister they've refused to leave. Her puppy dog eyes aren't quite as effective as Sophia's though, I'll tell you that."
Brittany and Santana frowned at each other.
"I don't understand." Brittany finally said.
"They were there when Pierce….when we had to call the ambulance." Susan said.
"We were playing tag." Pierce explained.
"Your parents brought them to the hospital Santana, so they could see their Poppy was alive, and they haven't left."
"They saw you have the heart attack?" Santana asked, her eyes wide and alarmed.
"Yes." Pierce nodded.
"That's why we wanted them to see him, because the whole thing could have left them thinking he died otherwise."
"Okay…" Santana nodded, looking like she was thinking hard. "We'll have to talk to them…check how they're doing."
Brittany nodded.
"You said they're in the cafeteria?" Brittany asked.
"Yes. Went about an hour ago."
"Okay. We can talk to them later."
For a few minutes they chatted about nothing, with Brittany feeling like she might never want to leave her father's side ever again.
Half an hour later, Santana stretched, yawning wide.
"Oh dear, you girls must be exhausted." Susan said. "You should go get some rest, come back in the morning."
"No, it's fine." Santana said, shaking her head. "I'll just go see our kids, make sure they're okay, maybe convince them to go home." She chuckled.
"Bring them up will you?" Brittany said. "I want to see them."
"Sure B. I'll be right back."
Santana decided to take the stairs to the cafeteria rather than the elevator, to give herself time to just breathe. She hadn't had the chance, since hearing about Pierce, to really process the news or how she felt. As soon as she found out what happened she knew she had to be strong for Brittany. She'd had to make sure they got the earliest flights out, handle early check-out with the hotel and arrange transport. She'd also done most of the packing, all while keeping close to Brittany, who had been so fragile in those first few hours after Ashley had called that she kept descending into tears at random moments. When that happened Santana would drop whatever it was she was doing, to wrap Brittany in her arms until she'd calmed down again.
So this was the first time in over twenty four hours that Santana was able to let go and feel the full weight of what had just happened.
Throughout her entire teenagehood and early twenties, Pierce had been more of a father to her than her own father had ever been. He, more than anyone else besides Brittany, made her feel like she had a family. Susan was sweet and warm and friendly, which Santana cherished in it's own way, but Pierce treated her like a daughter. The way he forced her into long hugs despite her continued protests, the way he teased her, the loud and exciting way he always greeted her, no matter how often they saw each other, it made Santana feel like she was really a part of the Pierce family. Even small things like giving her a nickname similar to Brittany's and calling her while she was away at college in Louisville even though she'd broken up with his daughter.
Pierce was probably one of the most important people in Santana's life, and he'd just almost died.
She had to stop mid-step as the truth of the situation hit her.
A heart attack was bad, she knew that from the few conversations she remembered having with her dad when she was younger about his work. Even if it didn't kill you, it weakened your heart. People who had a heart attack were at high risk of having another one or a stroke.
Feeling weak, Santana lowered herself onto the step, dropping her head onto her knees. The past year seemed to bring one thing after another, and Santana wasn't sure how much more she could take. She was so tired. It didn't surprise her when tears began to stream down her face. She let them come. This was why she'd come this way after all, to get all her emotions out away from the Pierces or her kids. She allowed herself to feel the fear that she hadn't been able to give into in France, and the relief she'd felt when she'd seen Pierce smiling at her as she walked into the hospital room. She let the tears fall freely, let herself be as loud as she needed to be to really get it all out. When she felt lighter, she pushed her hair out of her face, wiped her eyes and stood up.
She wasn't sure how truthful Pierce was being about being 'right as rain,' but honestly Santana didn't want to know the full extent of his condition. She wasn't strong enough to handle knowing that he was still in danger. She'd rather believe him, and go on seeing him as the strong, solid, unbreakable man she'd always known.
Gripping the stair railing, Santana closed her eyes and took in a long, deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she felt ready to face her kids.
It took a while for her kids to settle down once she saw them. She had to listen to four different re-tellings of what had happened to Pierce and how scared they were, but Santana listened diligently, hugging and kissing them all, promising them over and over that Pierce was okay. Sophia seemed the most upset about it, clinging so hard to Santana's arm that it was almost painful, but she wouldn't say what was wrong besides being scared that Pierce was dead.
When she finally got them to settle, she hugged her parents, thanking them for taking care of the kids and then she pulled her father away. Despite what she'd thought earlier, she needed to know the whole situation.
"Papi tell me the truth-"
"Don't ask me nena." He said with a solemn head shake. "If he wants you to know, he will tell you."
"I don't want to know the details, I just want to know how bad it is."
Her father looked down at her, his eyes sad.
"I can't tell you. If you wants you to know-"
"Oh dad come on it's Pierce, not some stranger!"
"Santana-"
"I just want to know if this is going to happen again, if he's actually out of the woods or if I should….If I should be preparing Brittany."
"Preparing Brittany or yourself?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.
Santana ignored him.
"Is it a condition? Will he need surgery down the line?"
Hew father just shook her head.
"No he doesn't need surgery or no you won't tell me? Because if he's going to need surgery then Brittany's going to want to be here, which means we'll have to reorganize a lot our plans so we can stay in Lima indefinitely, and I want to know- stop shaking your head why won't you just tell me!"
"Santana you know I can't."
"You're not a doctor anymore dad. You don't work here anymore, you can tell me."
"I can't."
"You're not his doctor!
"It's privileged information, whether I work here or not I still follow the codes of ethics."
Santana was sure if she hadn't taken those few minutes in the stairwell she would have given in to the irrational anger she was currently feeling. As it was, she clenched her jaw, turning to her kids to remind herself why screaming at her dad was not the best course of action.
"Just tell me this then," she said quietly, "is he actually okay?"
"Yes." Her father said, placing a consoling hand on her shoulder. "He's okay."
"Okay." Santana said. "I guess that will have to do."
She got some food and a few bottles of water, for both her and Brittany, then as promised took the kids up to Pierce's room.
They didn't stay long after that though. With Brittany and Santana back, the kids seemed more willing to leave the hospital, so at midnight Santana decided to take them home.
"Say bye to everyone papi." She said, to Mateo, who was sitting on her lap.
"Ah mami…" He whined, clinging onto her. "I'm tired."
"Then say bye quickly so we can go home and you can sleep."
"No I'm too tired to walk."
"Niki you're not a baby anymore. Stand up."
She got the ball rolling by lifting him off her lap, forcing him to stand. He whined loudly but Santana ignored him, standing up herself.
"You guys heading out?" Susan asked quietly, as Pierce had fallen asleep.
"Yeah."
"You're going with them?" Brittany asked, shifting away from her dad, who she was still cuddled into.
"Yeah they won't go without me and I don't want them sleeping here for another night."
Brittany nodded in understanding, trying carefully to stand up without waking her dad up.
"Mamiii!"
"Sshh" Santana and Brittany both hissed. Santana pressed her finger to Mateo's lips. "Why are you yelling?"
Mateo pouted heavily. "Sorry."
His eyes were bloodshot, which told Santana that though he was behaving badly, he was genuinely exhausted.
"Come here." She said, beckoning him towards her. He happily approached, raising his hands. "You have to help me okay? Jump."
Even with the jump, Santana had to use a lot more strength than she used to have to, to lift Mateo.
"Papi you're really getting too big for this."
"Give him here." Brittany said, successfully extracting herself from her dad.
"Are you sure?" Santana asked.
"Yeah. I'll carry him to the car and come back."
"Okay." Santana transferred Mateo to Brittany, then said her own goodbyes. She hugged Susan fiercely, and placed a very soft kiss on Pierce's cheek. "Susan do you need anything from home?"
"A change of clothes maybe." Susan said, smiling gratefully. "Thanks dear."
"No problem, I'll bring them by in the morning. B?"
Brittany shook her head. "I have my suitcase here." She pointed at the small suitcase in the corner.
"Oh yeah, okay let's go."
"Susan," Santana's mother said, pulling Susan into a hug, "if you need anything at all, please call me."
"Of course Maribel, but you've really done more than enough. Thank you both so much for being here." She smiled at Santana's dad. "And you, for saving him. We're lucky you were there Stephen."
"Oh no need to thank us." Stephen shook his head. "We're family."
Looking close to tears, Susan pressed her hands to her chest, pursing her lips as she nodded.
"Family, yes we are."
"Take care Susan," Santana's mother said, "we'll visit when he gets discharged."
"Sure."
"Bye gammy." Sophia said quietly, which her brothers parroted. Mateo seemed to have already fallen asleep in Brittany's arms.
"Bye sweethearts. Get some rest okay?"
They nodded, then following Santana's parents, walked out.
"Mum I'll be back in a few minutes okay?" Brittany said.
"No rush. Britt you're tired as well, if you want to go sleep at home and come back in the morning that's okay as well."
Brittany shook her head. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay…" Susan said. "See you in a few then."
When Santana was out of the room, Sophia moved to her side, taking her hand.
"Are you staying with us mami?"
"Yeah baby I am."
"Good." She said, pressing her head against Santana's arm. "I'm glad you're back."
"Me too mija." Santana said seriously. She knew Brittany hated that it had taken them so long to get to Pierce, but Santana hated it too, especially now that she knew that her kids had watched the whole thing. She made a mental note to talk to them tomorrow before coming back to the hospital. For tonight, the best thing for all of them was to get to sleep as fast as possible.
"Let's go home huh?"
