This story is special to me because I have four daughters, a set of twins included. They have this exact bond which causes fun things like continued conversations, exact mannerisms, protecting one another and their younger sisters with everything they have, and occasionally fighting like crazy. My twins father passed away when they were six months old, and it caused a lot of turmoil between my second husband for a bit as well.
"Anyone know why Coach C wanted us here?" Puck asked, now gathered in the auditorium with the rest of the glee club.
The twins exchanged a look; they knew every glee decision before it happened because of their parents. Seeing all their friends looking at them, they shook their heads.
"No clue," they said in unison.
Quinn and Brittany smiled at the twins because they often answer in unison, even in school—actually, besides their parents' classes, the rest of the teachers called 'twins' to get an answer because they always answered together. The teachers found it super impressive they could answer any and all questions in unison; their super close friends found it pretty badass, and the rest of the class's jaws dropped open each time. Who else could answer any question in any class, word for word, with someone else?
Suddenly, a guitar could be heard, followed by the most impressive voice in the school.
It's been a long time since I came around, it's been a long time, but I'm back in town. This time I'm not leaving without you Shelby sang, cupping Rachel's and Santana's face as she walked by them and smiling at the other Glee members.
Ooh, just you and I Will sang, continuing to play the guitar. Sharing our love together, and I know in time, we'll build the dreams we treasure. We'll be alright, just you and I
Something, something about this place (Just you and, just you and I)
Something 'bout lonely night, and my lipstick on your face.
"Eww!" the twins whined. They didn't need that imagery in their heads, they live it.
Shelby and Will smiled at them, thinking it was too cute because the girls had been this way since they were little. They'd always jump on, or crash into their parents when they were kissing, laughing when it forced them to break apart and kiss them instead.
Something, something about my cool Nebraska guy. Yeah, something about, baby you and I
Just you and I, (just you and I), sharing our love together
"Oh god it's just getting worse," they said in unison again. Shelby walked up to the twins who were loosely covering their eyes and moved their hands down, giving them a wink each.
The rest of the students were swaying back and forth while holding their phones up with the flashlights turned on. Not the twins though. They couldn't risk not having both of their hands accessible to them for the rest of the song.
Remember our first embrace, that smile that was on your face. The promises that we made. Uuhh, and now your love is my reward, and I love you even more than I ever did before.
Will looked over and saw the twins covering their ears now; they don't really mind seeing their parents kiss, hug, even snuggle up together. When their friends were over, they'd make a few comments but let it slide. In school though, in front of practically all the football team? They were so embarrassed.
Put your drinks up for Nebraska (For Nebraska)
For Nebraska, Nebraska, I love you.
You and I. You, you and I
(Nebraska) I'd rather die, without you and I
We made it, you and I
The kids clapped and before the twins could share their disgust, Puck whispered to them. "I've never noticed how hot Shelby is before."
Santana and Rachel whipped around and whacked him on either side of his head. "What was that for?" he questioned.
"Eww, Noah, that's our mom!"
"We've known you since you were two, idiot! So not okay."
Shelby knew whatever her girls just whacked their friend about was worth it, she'd ask about it later if she remembered, now wasn't the time though. Spinning back around, they asked, "So, what's with the mashup?"
"That was a mashup?" Brittany asked her friends. The blonde wasn't the only one who didn't know though; the twins explained to the glee club what songs it was a mash up of, and why mashups were so important, switching off ever few words throughout the entire thing.
"Thank you, twins," Shelby announced, pulling focus back to herself and Will; she then explained why they had just sang. "Sectionals is in two weeks' time; Mr. Shue and I know how motivated you were for mashups at the beginning of the year, so this week instead in place of Spanish class, you will be split into six groups, creating a mashup of your own that best suits the five of your voices."
Shelby already saw heads twisting and turning to choose groups and whistled to regain their attention. "Each team must have at least one football player and two members of the cherrios to make it fair. You'll—"
"Wait a minute, in place of Spanish?" Rachel interrupted. She and her sister never did anything but mess around and homework for other classes in their dad's class because they're already fluent, and suddenly weren't so on board losing their extra free period.
"Can't it be during English instead, mom?" Santana added, thinking the same thing as her sister: we can't mess around in her class.
The glare they received was answer enough. "At least we get a second free period to do whatever with our friends this time," Santana whispered to Rachel, knowing their dad would start making them 'focus' if he knew his girls didn't ever pay attention to him during class. Truth be told, Will knew his girls were fluent and let it happen because they weren't a disruption. Everyone else was excited about getting out of Spanish for a week though, even if the Corcoran girls weren't jumping for joy like they were.
"Let's get into groups," Will announced, ending the jumping. Quinn, Brittany and Puck were already standing around the twins, the blondes arms wrapped around one of them as Puck had his arms around all four of them. It was always the go to within their incredibly large friend group—the parents knew there were cliques within their larger clique, and those five were the closest.
Spanish class became a bit crazy for the next week and Will wasn't sure he made the right decision. He was still a bit confused Shelby was so adamant they couldn't spend a few days working on mashups during their two-hour glee practice after school three times a week. She was the professional though, and more than that, she was his wife so what Shelby says goes.
The twin's group used it to gossip and work on their dance because the Corcoran girls knew there was no way in hell they'd share their songs with the others; they'd get stollen immediately and their need to win was too great. Coach Beiste and Ms. Pillsbury were judging, which meant it was an easy win just like sectionals were going to be.
Will brought them into the auditorium each day to not interrupt the other classes going on, and always made it clear they were to stay in the auditorium but could spread out anywhere on the stage. Come halfway into class Tuesday though, he couldn't find the twins anywhere. Walking towards the rest of their group, he asked where his girls went.
Quinn, Brittany and Puck pretended like they had just noticed the twins were gone which made him mentally laugh. He was born at night, not last night. "Fess up, where are they?"
Puck coughed into his hand while answering with one word. "Excuse me?"
"They're getting us some candy," Quinn said softly.
"From where?" Will questioned, not knowing the twins had a secret stash hidden in his office.
"Your—" Brittany started to say, then her mouth was covered by Puck and Quinn's hand. The twins chose that moment to come running in with full-sized candy bars for each of them. They looked up at their dad and smiled, answering the silent question. "Locker!"
Thank gosh their mom wasn't here; she never would have believed them like Will did. "Don't dance around with your mouths full," he warned before checking to see how the other groups were doing.
"Damn, you two can get away with anything!" The pinky linked brunettes smiled at Puck, nodding as they took a bite of their candy bars.
Today was the Thursday before Sectionals and Will found his wife in their bedroom with a hand covering her mouth as she looked down at something. Shelby had yet to see her husband, whispering to herself, "Oh my god, New York."
Seeing what was in his wife's hand, Will immediately questioned, "Who did this to you in New York?"
Shelby jumped, startled by Will and then pieced together what her husband must be thinking. "No, Will, honey."
"Who?" he asked again, trying to keep his cool.
"I forgot to pack my pills when the girls and I went to New York, and the night we got home, you and I…"
"Oh my god," Will breathed out, pointing towards his own chest as Shelby nodded. His hands went up to his own mouth, he was beyond shocked, excited, thrilled, and suddenly a bit overwhelmed. The only thing on Shelby's mind right now was her girls. She couldn't truly feel anything herself or recognize Will's emotions until she knew the twins. It wasn't intentional. She loved Will so much—he was always there for her and the girls, he loved and respected her family, he's such an incredible man and she felt lucky to have him by her side.
Will grabbed Shelby's hand and started pulling her out their bedroom door until she stopped him, "Honey, what the heck are you doing?"
He looked at her like she was crazy and said, "The girls are downstairs."
"Will, that's the entire reason I am upstairs right now!" This was going much too fast for her. She didn't even have her mind wrapped around the last fifteen minutes and he was ready to make it known to the twins.
Will's excitement was great, just a bit overwhelming at this exact second. Shelby wasn't planning on mentioning anything to him yet; not because she was planning to hide it very for long, just until after this weekend because they'd be around their entire family at sectionals on Saturday, and the second cheer meet of the year on Sunday.
Will was a guy who told his family everything, nearly the minute it happened, without fail. Keeping a secret would be hard any weekend, but when the Corcoran's, Lopez's, April, Madison and the Schuester's were in town/around them starting tomorrow, it was going to be nearly impossible.
Will was still looking at his wife expectantly, and Shelby smiled softly at him. "After everyone leaves on Sunday."
"But" Will looked between Shelby and the door leading downstairs where the girls were a few times before he led his wife towards the bed so they could sit down. "Shell, are you not happy about this?"
How was Shelby supposed to answer without hurting him? Yes of course, she was just more concerned with the twins' feelings as she and Will had discussed this years and years ago, their decision final. Once Shelby knew they were okay, she would absolutely be beyond happy. This obviously wasn't planned though, and she has a bunch of different feelings, not all positive.
Shelby voiced the positive emotions she was feeling to her husband, and they held each other for about twenty minutes discussing the future. It was really great seeing Will so happy; she could tell he was feeling a bit uneasy himself though. Shelby assumed it was because this was all new to him and that made her smile a bit thinking about how great it was going to be.
"MOM!" the twins yelled for the third time, choosing to sit on top of the desk to get her attention. Shelby had been working on grading papers for about an hour now as Will made dinner, finding herself doing more thinking than grading.
When it was clear Shelby was actually focused on them, she was questioned immediately. "What they heck is wrong with you today?"
"Why are you all like, spacey again? There's literally no reason."
Shelby didn't have any wise comeback today though. She was so focused on all the possible reactions the twins would have, and wondering if it would be better to tell them later tonight, or after this weekend. She didn't want to distract them from the two days they were so excited for if things went sideways, but also knew they preferred to be told things immediately instead of being kept in the dark too.
"What do you two need?"
"Uhh, hello! Aren't you going to tell us what the heck is wrong?"
"I was lost in thought, there's nothing wrong," she smiled.
Rachel and Santana shared a look and dropped it only because they had more pressing matters to take care of. "Can Britt and Quinn stay over tomorrow so we can all hangout before sectionals?"
Shelby immediately shook her head no. "Your grandparents will be arriving while we are at school tomorrow."
"Abuelo and Abuelita? Tomorrow? YES!" the twins cheered. They saw their other sets of grandparents all the time, not their New York grandparents though. Granted, they just saw them in September but still, anytime they saw them in person was the absolute best.
Shelby nodded, about to tell them April and Madison were coming too but they took off running into the kitchen, screaming in excitement at their dad. "Abuelo and Abuelita are coming tomorrow dad!"
"Why didn't you tell us earlier on the way home from school?" Typically, they drove home with Shelby, when she had to stay late and they were ready to go, he drove them.
"Can Abuelita cook tomorrow so we can have Spanish food for dinner?" The girls loved their parents' food, Spanish food was one of their favorite meals though and Will didn't know how to make it. He typically helped Shelby when she was making it, however, the recipe was only in her head so he could only help chop vegetables.
"Please dad!"
"Spanish food is literally like, our favorite food ever!" They begged, not letting him get a word in, then their minds started racing about something else.
"Who's picking abuelo and Abuelita up from the airport? Can we come too?"
"We'll get all our homework done before we have to leave, promise!"
"Wait, what time are they getting here?"
"Maybe we'll get to have a half day!"
Will was trying to follow along with everything his girls were saying and asking—this was so normal in their household; he was pretty good at answering everything if he was expecting it, the girls had just run down the hallway yelling though, which caught him off guard.
"Your grandparents typically arrive on a Friday unless there's a special circumstance, you know that—if Abuelita wants to cook, she's more than welcome too although I don't want to force her after flying in to be here to see you two this weekend. As for a half day or leaving school early, no you may not." Will answered, holding his hand up at them before they could complain.
"Unless there's an emergency, neither of you can miss or leave school early the day before a performance," reiterating the rules they set for the glee club on day one, not to mention Sue's ridiculously long list of rules.
"Umm, all of our family is coming," Rachel started.
"Seems like an emergency to us," Santana finished.
"No girls, you're not leaving school."
Two heads tipped back in disapproval, then focused on the dinner their dad was making. Each of them reached over the kitchen island and took a handful of green peppers he had just cut up to snack on—they were starving. "Hey, get back here you little thieves, you stole nearly all my pepper!"
The twins were already at the bottom of the stairs before turning around to put back most of the slices, keeping three each, the number Will settled on. "Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes, don't get too invested into anything."
Those two led busy lives—seeing as their homework was typically finished when getting home from school and every activity, Santana and Rachel got into everything. Spending time in the music room playing and singing songs they wanted to instead of the setlist Shelby gave them for glee. Working on their cheer routine, or just dancing around doing whatever instead of what Sue gave them. Caught up on the countless tv shows they were watching, their parents never understanding how they could watch so many different shows without finishing one first. FaceTimed their friends and family together for hours, even though they saw their friends all day long. Hung more fairy lights taking more pictures together for each other's rooms, and the list went on.
"We won't dad!" they yelled as Shelby walked into the kitchen.
Will and Shelby spoke until dinner was finished and before Will could yell for the girls, Shelby told him they should tell the twins after they ate.
"Are you serious?"
Shelby nodded. "I'm sorry it took me so long to…"
Will cut her off. "Don't. I understand honey, really, I do. You have nothing to apologize for." Shelby she knew she did because even though she only shared her happy emotions with her husband, he deserved more.
"I love you so much," Shelby smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I love you too, Shell."
The twins usually hated it when their parents asked them to come sit down with them because it meant they were in some type of trouble—today though, they were already complaining because they've been on their best behavior since New York.
"Enough!" Shelby announced, putting an end to the whining.
"Neither of you is in trouble," Will continued.
The girls sat back proudly on the couch, pinky's linked as they got themselves comfortable. "So, what's up?"
Shelby took a deep breath then said, "We have some news we want to share with you."
"We're finally getting a puppy?" the twins said in unison.
"What?" Will nearly squeaked. "No!"
"For the last time, we're not getting a puppy," Shelby said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You two are allergic, that hasn't changed." Will was all for it when they were little until Shelby shared the news of her twin's severe allergy with him.
"Rach and I found this special breed though, it's uhh…" Santana looked at her sister in hopes she would remember the name of it.
"I forget the name too, but they are so cute!"
"This is not what your mother and I wanted to talk to you about. Shell?"
The mother told them and about five minutes had gone by now. Will was looking at Shelby who had yet to tear her eyes away from the twins who were clearly in a secret silent conversation with one another. Shelby was nearly crushing Will's hand waiting for a response of any kind. She couldn't handle it anymore, and spoke up, voice soft and gentle. "Babies? Please say something…anything."
They finally turned their heads back to face Will and Shelby, looking back and forth between the two of their parents: faces, unreadable. "Well, what do you girls think?" Will questioned.
The twins shared one more look with one another before…
"EWWWWW, you guys actually do it?" Santana started.
"Our rooms are right next to yours!" Rachel added.
"What were you thinking?" they continued in unison.
"That's so gross."
"That's so nasty."
They said at the same time. The twins were clearly focusing on the wrong aspect of things and were completely caught up. Santana and Rachel could have kept going, Will put an end to things though because his wife had been holding her breath wanting to know how they felt about this life altering news that he was so curious about too. "Girls, your mother is pregnant."
"You two are going to have a little brother or sister," Shelby said in hopes of getting them to focus knowing the word pregnant is what caused them to spiral on about the fact she and Will had sex, something they've been doing for almost eleven years now.
The twins exchanged another look and then squealed, piercing the eardrums of their parents, starting another spiral.
"A little sister!" they screamed in unison, turning to face each other on the couch, completely missing the faces their parents were wearing.
"Another dancer," Rachel started.
"Another cheerleader," Santana continued.
"Another voice to make us sound even better together!"
"Another to protect and keep safe!"
"Another to share all our secrets with."
"Another to…"
Santana was cut off by their dad who commented, "You know it could be a boy, right?"
"Eww!" they said in unison.
"Pee all over the toilet seats."
"Disgusting smells and constant noise."
"Literally no cute outfits."
"Sports that don't make any sense."
"Dad's right," Shelby said, cutting Rachel off this time. "It could be a boy."
"It's not!" the girls announced.
Shelby and Will shared a look of their own this time. She was only 14 weeks and had yet to go to the doctor, meaning there was no way the girls could know. "We don't even know yet," Will said, confusion showing on his face.
"We do," Rachel said proudly, Santana nodding her head in agreement.
"How?" Shelby questioned. Her girls have had a strange sense like this a few times before, knowing things before they happened or knowing more than Shelby or Will told them.
"I dunno, we just do," Santana tried to explain. The twins didn't really know how, they just did. They called it their whanky superpower.
Shelby was so thrown by the fact her twins seemed so confident she nearly missed the excitement they shared when talking about a baby sister. The mother now had tears running down her cheeks with the biggest smile on her face knowing her girls were happy, only making her heart swell even more.
She had discussed having another baby with Will before they got married, making it clear she truly didn't want any more children. Shelby was completely satisfied with her baby girls, as they had a very full and rewarding life, something Will was on board with. They discussed it again when the girls were about five and felt the same way.
To be honest, he was still a bit traumatized by Terri's fake pregnancy, and Shelby loved how much he loved her girls—she also loved how Juan will always be in her new life because of the twins. Will was everything to her, Shelby was still convinced she'd lose even more of Juan if they had a baby together though; she also thought it would make Maria and Carlos beyond upset with her. By the time she realized how untrue those things were, the girls were eight and the age gap just didn't seem right. Plus, their life was also so complete.
When Will looked at Shelby, he saw a smile as tears were running down his wife's face which made him even more confused. "So, you two are happy about having another sibling?" he asked.
"DUH!" They smiled, getting off the couch across from their parents to jump onto him in excitement, something they've done since they were little girls.
"Ugh," he groaned from the weight, wrapping an arm around them both before they fell backwards. Will then whispered something into their ears causing Santana to roll over and Rachel to stand up again before sitting on the other side of her mom.
"Don't cry mommy."
"This is the best news!"
"You're supposed to be happy."
Shelby laughed, snuggling the twins closer, "I am happy monkey faces. I'm so happy."
The girls each grabbed a side of her shirt and pulled it up causing Shelby to shriek. "Hey baby sis."
"We're your big sisters."
"We'll always protect you."
"And love you."
"Teach you everything we know."
"Always be here to tell your secrets to instead of mom and dad."
"Make sure you're a cheerio."
"And the most popular girl in school."
"Get straight A's."
"Get every solo and lead in the musicals."
"Get into NYU like we're going to even though dad's going to tell you any college is fair game."
"It's not though, NYU is the only school for us."
The girls took a break from looking at Shelby's flat stomach to stick their tongues out at Will who was loving every minute of the continued conversation the twins were having with the baby until the NYU comments. He didn't actually care, proud of the girls for setting their sights on NYU and being determined to do anything and everything to get in. It was a running joke in their family though and has been since the twins were about seven and announced they were going to NYU like mommy.
Shelby had tears streaming down her cheeks remembering every moment of Juan talking to her stomach each night until the girls were born. She already knew the twins would do the same thing and more because they took after both of their dads. They celebrated everything, got overly excited and were persistent like Juan, and were consistent, dependable, and stubbornly determined like Will.
"Oh my gosh, we need to call Britt, Quinn, Puck, Auntie April, Uncle Sam (Shelby's brother), Madison and all our other friends!"
"And nana, papa, grandma, grandpa, abuelo and Abuelita!"
"No, no, no, no-no," Shelby said, shaking her head back and forth.
"Why not?" they questioned.
"We're going to tell them after you cheer competition," Will answered.
"You expect us to keep our baby sister a secret until Sunday?"
"Are you nuts?"
"You two keep secrets from us all the time."
"That's not even close to the same thing, mom!"
The twins were nodding, agreeing with one another as their parents gave them a signature look. Yeah, Will had a look too. Their dads' look would only make their friends laugh though, while it still meant business to Santana and Rachel.
"Fine, but know we aren't happy about it."
"Not at all," Rachel agreed.
"Noted," Shelby laughed. It's cute they think they have a say she thought to herself.