Chapter 41: Uh…What The Hell!

Santana's POV

*Friday 21st April 2023*

Quinn asked me to be her matron of honour at her wedding and obviously I said yes. She's my best friend so of course I would love to do that for her. I have a lot of responsibilities as matron of honour which includes preparing all the parties and stuff. I am organising the bachelorette party for her but that won't be for another while yet since she hasn't got all her wedding plans down yet. She hasn't set the date yet but I thought in the meantime, I could organise an engagement party so everyone could celebrate the engagement with her and it'll be a fun thing to do before the wedding plans become more concrete. She has been engaged for 6 weeks now and we've not celebrated it properly yet so tonight should be good to get all of her family and friends in the same room with her to toast her happy news.

"Hey honey, what's going on?" Brittany says with a smile as she enters the bedroom.

"Not much, I was just deep in thought" I smile.

"Thinking about Jaxon like I was? I know he's only having an overnight with my parents while we go to this party but I really miss him right now" she tells me.

"Yeah, I mean I was thinking about Jaxon because I will miss him tonight when we get home and he's not here but it wasn't just that that was on my mind" I explain.

"What else were you thinking about?" she asks curiously.

"Just about Quinn getting engaged and stuff" I shrug.

"I see" Brittany nods in understanding.

"I mean why am I always pregnant when our best friends get married or are doing something fun like getting engaged?" I ask. "I was pregnant at Mercedes's wedding to Sam and now I'm going to be pregnant at Quinn's party tonight and will probably still be carrying the baby weight when she gets married" I add.

"I know but you'll still be the hottest bridesmaid there so I wouldn't worry about it too much" Brittany smiles.

"I know I'll look hot but I won't be able to fully enjoy myself because of how I'm feeling. I want to be able to dance with everyone without getting sore and I want to be able to toast to the happy couple which I can't do because I'm not drinking" I state.

"I know it's not ideal babe but nothing in life is ever perfect so wouldn't you want to go to a wedding or whatever pregnant and still have a child together at the end of it or would you rather we didn't have any more children but could go to every wedding and party and be able to drink?" she asks me.

"I know having kids means more to me at the end of the day but it doesn't make it any easier to handle. I just need this moment to wallow in my pain but I will be fine eventually, I'm sure" I reply.

"Honestly, it's going to be fine and I'm sure you'll still enjoy yourself anyway tonight" she smiles.

"I should get changed now" I say as I walk over to my closet. "Are you happy with the clothes I have laid out for you?" I ask.

"I'm pretty sure if I didn't like the dress you had chosen for me to wear tonight, I wouldn't be able to change it anyway because you wouldn't let me wear anything else so I'm not sure your question requires an answer" Brittany smirks at me.

"I mean I would still like to know if you're happy with the outfit or not regardless of whether you get to change it or not" I shrug.

"Well, it's good news for both of us anyway because I am happy with the outfit you have chosen for me this evening" she smiles.

"Good" I smile back.

"Do you think I could pick out what you should wear tonight since you got to pick for me?" Brittany asks teasingly.

"Not a chance" I laugh. "I must say your fashion taste has greatly improved since you started sleeping with your boss but it's still not up to par with the standard I can come up with so we'll leave me to choose the clothes for important nights like this" I add.

"Ok" she smiles.

"You and me really need to get ready now so let's get started" I say as I begin changing my clothes.

"Yeah, otherwise we'll be late" Brittany says as she too begins changing.

"There is no way I can go to a party without heels so I'm wearing them tonight. The only thing is though that heels and swollen pregnancy ankles do not mix so you're going to have to hold my hand the whole night so I don't fall over" I say.

"That I definitely can do" Brittany smiles.

"I probably won't be able to dance with you too much either tonight if my ankles are swollen" I point out.

"Ok but who says you need to be on your feet to dance with me" she smirks. "Maybe I'll just carry you the whole night in my arms so you won't need to put your feet on the floor at all."

"You can't possibly dance with me in your arms all night without putting me down on the ground at some point" I laugh.

"Are you saying I'm not physically strong?" she teases.

"No, I am saying I am physically too heavy these days with the pregnancy and the weight gain and the bloating and the swollen body parts" I tell her.

"Excuse me, Santana and heavy do not belong in the same sentence. You may be heavier than before but you are not heavy" Brittany says as she waves the idea off that she couldn't lift me.

"Ok, whatever you say" I smile. "So, apart from pregnant, how do I look?" I ask my wife as I finish getting changed.

"Beautiful" she says as she walks over to me and kisses my cheek.

"Correct answer" I smirk. To be honest I didn't think she'd say anything negative but I wanted to ask anyway so I could hear her compliment me again.

As soon as we're both finally finished getting ready for the night, we head downstairs. We lock up the house before heading outside to Brittany's car. We're just taking our car to the party as usual since I can't have alcohol anyways so taking a cab makes no sense. Brittany is going to drive us there but if she feels like some alcohol tonight, I've said I'll drive us home so it's all worked out. Once we arrive at the venue, we head straight inside and greet all of our friends and Quinn's family.

"Hey, I got us some drinks. Non-alcoholic of course" Brittany smiles at me as she sits down next to me at the table.

"Cool" I smile back.

"The party seems to be well underway already, doesn't it" she says as she looks around the room.

"Yeah, everyone seems to be having a great time" I reply. "I'm just going to have this drink first and rest my feet and then maybe you and I can dance" I add.

"Sounds good to me" Brittany nods.

"Do you know what I just figured out the other day?" I ask my wife as I place my feet onto her lap.

"I am sure you figured out a lot of things" she replies teasingly.

"Yeah-yeah, very funny but I meant something specific" I state.

"Ok then I don't know so do tell me" Brittany smiles.

"I just realised that the last big party we went to was the Christmas party we held at work and that time in our life also has a special meaning behind it because I think that bad hangover I thought I had was actually morning sickness" I reply.

"I guess that does make sense" she nods.

"Do you know what else I realised?" I ask and she shakes her head. "The night of our 1-year wedding anniversary was actually when we conceived this little baby" I say as I gently caress my stomach.

"Was it really?" Brittany asks surprised.

"Yeah, I mean if my math is correct then it had to have been that night" I tell her.

"That is actually kind of cute because it's a nice story for the conception and it wasn't just a quickie on the couch or at work. Our baby was conceived out of love" Brittany smiles.

"I would have thought all of the times we have sex now is when we're in love since we do actually like one another" I laugh.

"You know what I mean" she shrugs. "It wasn't just about getting a quick release to feel better after a bad day but about actually having passionate sex together because we wanted a connection with one another" she adds.

"I guess that makes sense" I smile.

"Jaxon was also conceived out of love because we were trying to get pregnant when it happened so that wasn't just a quickie either" Brittany says.

"I know" I say while continuing to smile at her. Nothing makes me happier than Brittany and our children so I'm always smiling when I think about them.

"Come here" she says as she leans in and pecks my lips.

"Have I told you tonight that you look beautiful?" I ask. I know she told me I was looking good tonight in my dress but I don't actually know if told her.

"Tell me again" she smirks at me.

"You look beautiful tonight" I smile.

"So do you" Brittany says as she repays the compliment.

"Thank you, honey" I smile again. Seriously I can't stop smiling tonight.

"Can I steal my best friend for a second please" Quinn asks as she comes over to my table.

"Yes, you may but don't keep her too long because she and I have a date on the dancefloor very soon" Brittany replies.

"Ok, I won't" Quinn laughs.

"I'll go and talk to Mercedes and Tina but I'll see you soon" Brittany says as she pecks my lips and then leaves the table to go and find her friends.

"So, what's up?" I ask my best friend.

"I need to talk to you about something" Quinn replies.

"I kinda figured that" I tease.

"I know you're my matron of honour so you're already doing a big thing for me but I wanted to ask you another favour. It's totally ok if you say no though so please don't feel like you have to say yes because I won't be mad if you say no" Quinn states.

"Just tell me what it is" I laugh. I'm getting impatient about what this is so I wish she would just spit it out and tell me.

"I wanted to ask you if you'd make my wedding dress for me" she says nervously. "You're the best person for the job because you know fashion like no other and I don't think I could get the perfect wedding dress that I want from anywhere else" she adds.

"Are you serious?" I ask excitedly.

"Yeah, but please don't feel you have to do this because if you don't feel comfortable since we're such good friends to do this then I would understand" Quinn says.

"No I would love to do this for you Quinn, honestly" I tell her as I hug her.

"Are you sure because if you're worried we would ruin our friendship if we had completely different ideas about designs and working together so we offended each other then I would get that" she says.

"Honestly, I would love to do this for you Q because I know we would work well together and I could make you the perfect wedding dress" I assure her.

"Ok, well thank you so much" Quinn smiles as she leans in and hugs me.

"Hey-hey, let go of my wife. She's all mine" Brittany says as she playfully pulls Quinn and I apart from our embrace. "Also, you're in my seat so stand up please" she adds.

"Ok, I'm sorry" Quinn laughs as she stands up from her seat. "Santana and the seat are all yours now" she smiles.

"Good" Brittany smiles back.

"I'm going to see some of my other guests now but I'll catch up with you both later" Quinn tells us.

"That's cool, we'll talk to you later" I say to my best friend and then she leaves.

"What did Quinn want to talk to you about?" Brittany asks curiously as she sits down next to me.

"She wanted to ask me if I would make her wedding dress for her" I reply excitedly.

"Judging by the excitement in your voice I would say you've said yes" she states.

"I did and it's going to be one kickass dress that I'll make for her" I smile.

"I know she's your best friend and everything but are you sure about this because it'll take a lot of work and you are very stressed out with the workload you have at the moment and the pregnancy" Brittany points out.

"I'm definitely sure about it plus she told me the wedding wouldn't be before the new baby is born so I'll have tons of time once the pregnancy is over to make the dress" I shrug.

"Ok well if this ever stresses you out then I want to help you at least. I know we joke about my fashion sense a lot but I am working in this business now too so I can at least offer you a hand" she tells me.

"I promise to let you help me if I start to struggle" I smile.

"Good" Brittany nods. "Anyway, are you ready to hit this dancefloor now?" she asks me.

"I am" I smile.

"Let's do it then" Brittany says enthusiastically as she tries to pick me up to carry me to the dancefloor.

"Honey, don't" I shake my head. "I don't want you lifting me no matter how strong you are. I'll walk and we'll dance properly because I can't risk you injuring yourself by trying to take care of me" I tell her.

"Ok" she smiles.

"I am going to have to lean on you a little bit when we're dancing though because my feet are killing me" I say as I put my arms around Brittany.

"That is totally good with me" she says as she wraps her arms around me also.

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*Sunday 23rd April 2023*

My wife is upstairs in the shower right now and my son is taking a nap so I'm having a little bit of me time. I'm just positioned on the couch as best I can be when I'm this far into pregnancy, as I watch the TV. As much as I like some alone time, I am looking forward to spending some of my afternoon with my wife and child. Neither Brittany nor I are working today so it should be a nice afternoon for us to spend time as a family away from work.

As soon as I hear the doorbell ring, I groan loudly to myself because I know I have to answer it. Usually I would leave it for Brittany to answer but since she's in the shower she's unlikely to hear it and I don't particularly want her answering the door in just a towel anyways. On the one hand I could just ignore it but on the other hand if I do that, whoever is at the door might keep knocking and end up wakening up my baby.

"Delivery for Ms Santana Pierce" the man at the door says as I open it and he hands me a bouquet of flowers.

"Ok, thank you" I reply and then close the door.

I make my way back to the living room while trying to open the card that was attached to the flowers. Since the flowers are addressed to me as Pierce then they must be from family or friends because I only go by Lopez professionally so it can't be work related. Once I open the card, I read the message inside.

Santana, the most beautiful person on the planet.

You mean the world to us. You're the best mother

and wife there is. We love you so much!

Britt, Jax and Baby xx

I don't know if it's the gesture or the pregnancy hormones but I'm definitely tearing up a bit right now. It was a really sweet thing to do for me because I have cheered up a little bit. I still don't like how I'm feeling at the moment but I do appreciate what Brittany has done. As soon as I put the flowers in some water, I run upstairs to my bedroom to wait on Brittany finishing in the master bathroom.

"Hey" Brittany smiles as she walks into the room. I don't verbally reply, I just walk over to her and kiss her as I wrap my arms around her. "What is that for?" she asks confused.

"The flowers were just delivered" I smile.

"Oh, ok" she nods.

"They're beautiful, thank you so much" I say honestly.

"You're very welcome" Brittany smiles again. "I just wanted to treat you and I wanted you to know how much you mean to me and the kids so I thought flowers would be a nice gesture" she adds.

"They were a nice gesture, a very nice gesture" I smile.

"I'm glad you like them" she tells me.

"I really do love them but I love you that bit more" I say as I lean up on my tip toes to kiss her. "You look really hot right now; do you know that?" I say as I move my hands down Brittany's back.

"I didn't but I know that now" Brittany smirks at me.

"Like seriously, you're so sexy in that towel" I tell her as my hands move up her body play with the top of her towel.

"If you loosen my towel, it will fall down" she replies.

"And would that be a problem for you because it certainly wouldn't be a problem for me" I smirk.

"I guess not" Brittany laughs.

"Come here" I smile.

I pull Brittany's body as close as I can to mine and kiss her. My pregnant belly is sort of in the way a little bit but neither of us seem to let that be a problem. We continue making out for a while as our hands start searching the other's body. My hands grip her waist as I hold on tightly as her fingers tangle in my hair. I'm really starting to get turned on now and for once, it's not going to be a problem for me. I want this to happen right now.

"We should stop before I get too into this" Brittany says as she pulls away from me.

"No I'm ok babe, trust me" I smile. "I know this very rarely happens lately but I do really want you right now" I tell her as I intertwine my fingers with hers.

"Ok" she smiles before pulling me in for another kiss.

"We're losing this now" I say as I unwrap her towel from her body and drop it to the ground, to leave a very naked body facing me. "You're so sexy" I say with a smirk as I stare at my wife in front of me.

"Not as sexy as you, trust me" she says as she wraps her arms around me and kisses me passionately.

We continue kissing as we make our way towards the bed. Brittany carefully helps me on and I lie down as she crawls towards me. She positions herself as best she can, hovering over me careful not to put any pressure on my stomach. I place my hands on her back as she leans down and kisses my lips. She kisses me a few more times on the lips before slowly making her way down my body leaving kisses as she goes.

"God that feels good" I moan as I tangle my hands in her hair.

"I love the way your body reacts to my kisses" she smirks at me before going back to leaving a trail of kisses down my body.

"I love it too" I say. Just as Brittany is about to touch me where I need her most, the baby monitor makes a sound.

"Is that Jaxon?" Brittany asks as she quickly pulls away from me.

"I think so" I nod. "I guess this is not meant to be once again" I sigh. This is the second time now where Brittany and I are both in the mood for sex and are about to kick things up a notch when something interrupts us. We had Ashley a couple of weeks ago and now Jaxon needs our attention.

"I should get dressed now" Brittany says.

"Yeah" I nod. "I'll go and see to Jaxon" I say disappointedly as I leave the room.

After checking on Jaxon and giving him something to eat, Brittany and I hung out with him for a while. We then made some dinner together and ate while Jaxon sat with us and played with some toys. We then decided to give him a bath so by the time that was done, it was time to put him to bed. Jaxon was really struggling to get to sleep so we sat with him for a while as I sang to him and Brittany read a book to him. Brittany and I are now just getting into bed.

"Shall we pick up where we left off earlier" Brittany smirks at me as she spoons me from behind.

"I'm sorry babe, the mood has gone. I'm just too tired now to do anything but sleep" I apologise.

"No that's fine babe, don't apologise. These things happen" she smiles.

"Jax took it out of me that last bit of energy that I had" I say.

"It's cool, we'll just go to sleep" she says before kissing my cheek.

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*Tuesday 25th April 2023*

I've just arrived home from work by myself and honestly, I couldn't be happier to be home. I haven't been able to take as much time off this week so I've sort of been back to my up and down moods which isn't great. I think the mood swings are more correlated with work than anything else because when I do take time off, I seem to be happier. It's weird though because my business is like my first love so it shouldn't make me unhappy. Before Brittany and I got together I used to love working and nothing made me happier to do what I did for a living but now it's like a negative thing for me. I mean I say it's work but maybe it's not, I really don't know. Unless there is something else that only ever happens on days when I work so I think it's work but it's not, it's this other thing.

Brittany left work a lot earlier than I did this evening so I'm looking forward to seeing her. I'm also looking forward to kissing my son who has been with Ashley all day but I am worried he's going to be asleep by the time I get to him tonight. Like I say it's a lot later tonight than I wanted it to be so the chances of spending time with Jaxon are slim. I've just walked into the house but the whole of the downstairs is dark which means my wife and son are upstairs. I go straight to Jaxon's room when I reach the top of the stairs but as predicted he is asleep so I kiss him goodnight before going to find Brittany.

"Hey" Brittany smiles as I walk into the master bedroom.

"Hi" I reply quietly as I sit on the edge of the bed.

"How has your day been" she asks as she comes up and sits behind me. She then starts to massage my shoulders.

"It's been ok but it's even better now that I have you with me" I say happily. Even though we were working in the same office today, we never really got a chance to talk much or spend time together because we were so busy.

"Am I helping you or just hurting you right now?" she asks.

"Honestly it's not your best work Britt but I definitely feel better than I did before you started" I tell her.

"Shall I stop?" Brittany teases.

"Only if you want to sleep elsewhere tonight" I shrug teasingly.

"Yeah, I don't wanna do that so I'll keep going" she tells me as she leans down and kisses my shoulder.

"Good" I say with a relieved sigh that I'm finally home with her.

"I love you and this is all going to get better eventually, ok" she tells me.

"I know but it's hard to look into the future right now when I am so out of sorts at the moment. I hate feeling like this and it's not just because I hate taking my emotions out on you. I hate being like this because I can't enjoy these few months when they're so crucial to Jaxon. I want to enjoy his first steps and first words but I'm missing out because I am never feeling well" I sigh.

"You really haven't missed much babe because he hasn't walked or talked yet so all of that excitement is still to come so you will see it" Brittany reassures me.

"I hope so" I say.

"Maybe you need to take some more time off work these days or take maternity leave early. Honestly, the business will survive without you there for a couple of hours extra a week. I will be there as well so nothing bad is going to happen to the business so you don't need to get so stressed about it" she tells me.

"I suppose I might try and take some extra time off when I can" I reply.

"Good" Brittany says as she kisses my shoulder again. "Ok, I think that's as good a job as I can do with the massage so I'll stop now" she adds.

"That's fine, I want to get changed out of these clothes and into some pajamas anyway" I tell her as I shuffle off the bed. "I'm going to use the bathroom first and then I'll change" I say as I make my way over to the master bathroom.

"Ok" Brittany smiles.

As soon as I finish in the bathroom, I make my way back into the bedroom. I take my jewellery off at my dresser and then grab some pajamas from my closet. I'm just beginning to strip off all of my clothes about to change when I notice Brittany just sitting on the bed, staring at me.

"Are you watching me change right now?" I ask amused.

"Yeah I am, I'm sorry" Brittany says as she looks away from me.

"It's really ok" I smile.

"No, it's not because the last thing you want after a hard day at work is unwanted attention from me" she tells me.

"Honestly, you can look if you want to. Things just won't be going any further though because I'm not in the mood to have sex tonight" I say.

I know I'm not being fair on Brittany at the moment but there is something oddly satisfying about the fact she still can't keep her eyes off of me. She's obviously still attracted to me even when I feel the least sexy as I've ever felt. I feel really unattractive at the moment but knowing Brittany still watches me change or looks at me as I leave the shower makes me see that I'm actually not that ugly right now. I feel horrible but I don't think I actually look horrible though which is nice to know.

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*Wednesday 26th April 2023*

Brittany and I are just about to go to work very soon. Ashley is already here as usual to look after Jaxon for the day. Brittany is in the kitchen with Ashley and Jaxon right now, all ready for work, while I'm upstairs getting changed. I was ready for the day at the same time as Brittany this morning but I insisted on giving Jaxon his breakfast so I could spend a little more time with him but my plan backfired because he drank too much milk and threw up on me. I thought I was being smart by giving him breakfast instead of Ashley but now I kinda wish he had thrown up on her instead of me. I don't really have anything against Ashley but I would have preferred my son be sick on someone who isn't family rather than doing it on his own mother.

As soon as I'm changed, I head back downstairs again. I grab my work stuff and head towards the kitchen to collect Brittany so we can go to work together. I'm just about to walk into the room to tell her I'm ready to go and to kiss Jaxon goodbye when I hear her talking to Ashley about something she probably shouldn't be talking about.

"Santana and I haven't done it in ages" I hear Brittany say. "Honestly it's been months since we actually done it" she adds.

"Really?" Ashley replies surprised.

"Um…what the hell is going on in here?" I ask annoyed as I walk into the room. How dare Brittany say something personal about her and I to someone else. It's none of Ashley's business when we last had sex.

"We were just talking, sorry" Brittany apologises.

"Talking about something you damn well shouldn't be" I state. Honestly, I am so angry with my wife right now because that is a personal thing she is talking about and I don't want other people to know.

"Yeah, I know I should be letting Ashley get on with her work and not distract her by talking to her. I am sorry" Brittany tells me.

"You'll need to be more than sorry when I've finished with you. How dare you talk about our sex life to someone else. That is a personal thing between you and I so I'm so pissed at you right now for thinking it's ok to tell Ashley we haven't been having sex lately. Do you not respect me at all because…"

"Honey, stop talking" Brittany says interrupting me which infuriates me even more.

"Do not interrupt me when I'm talking" I warn.

"Santana, let's go" Brittany says as she takes me hand and pulls me out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"I am so mad at you right now" I say while shaking my head at Brittany.

"I interrupted you and told you to stop talking because you were saying too much. Honey I don't know what you heard me and Ashley talking about but it wasn't sex. I do not discuss my sex life with my employees. In fact, I do not discuss my sex life with anyone except you" she tells me.

"The minute I walked into the kitchen I heard you tell Ashley you and I haven't done it in months. To me that sounds like you told her we haven't had sex in months" I state.

"Oh honey, no. I wasn't talking about sex. When I said we hadn't done it in months I meant we haven't been to the movies or a concert in months. I didn't mean done it as in sex, I meant done it as in that particular activity because we were talking about what we like to do in our spare time so we mentioned the movies and stuff. I was saying we haven't done anything like going to the movies or to a concert in months" Brittany explains.

"Really because it sounded like you were saying 'done it' as in sex" I reply.

"Why would I tell Ashley how much sex we have, that's just weird. I mean why would she even want to know either especially after how weird she got when she walked in on us the other week?" she says.

"You really weren't talking about sex?" I ask.

"No, I promise you. You've just walked in at a weird moment in the conversation and I haven't phrased things well either" Brittany replies.

"I don't know if I'm more relieved or embarrassed now" I sigh. "I'm relieved you weren't discussing the lack of a sex life that we have at the moment because it's private between us, but I'm also really quite embarrassed because I've went and told Ashley that now."

"Babe don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal. It is a little embarrassing maybe but I doubt Ashley would give it a second thought" she tells me as she wraps her arms around me in a hug.

"I'm sorry for suggesting you would share our private business with other people" I apologise.

"You don't need to apologise. We all get the wrong end of the stick from time to time so don't even think about it. I'm not mad so don't worry. Everything is all good between you and me honey" she says as she kisses the top of my head.

"We should be going to work now" I say as I pull out of the hold.


Brittany's POV

*Thursday 27th April 2023*

My plan for today is a little bit different. My wife is working and I'm not, but it's not a typical day off either for me. I've had some bad toothache the past couple of days so Santana finally convinced me to call the dentist so my appointment is for this morning. I've been in quite a bit of discomfort so I'm assuming it might not be an easy fix so I've taken the full day off work in preparation for getting some dental surgery. Even though I'm not working, I can't drag Jaxon to my appointment with me so we've still got Ashley coming to work as planned to take care of our son.

"I'll see you when I get home later" Santana smiles as she walks into the room all ready to go to work.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay home and look after me?" I ask with a smirk.

"You're just going to the dentist babe, you'll be fine" Santana says as she puts her arms around me. "Plus, Ashley has Jaxon so if you're in mild pain later then you can head upstairs to rest for a while" she adds.

"It's not the same as being taken care of by my wife" I point out.

"I know but I do need to go to work. Plus, you'll be fine babe, honestly. You've been to the dentist enough times over the years to know it never turns out that badly in the end" she tells me.

"Ok" I nod.

"I really have to go now but I'll text you later, ok?" Santana replies.

"Ok, see you later" I smile.

"I love you honey" she smiles back.

"Love you too" I reply and then Santana leaves.

As soon as Ashley arrived for work, I updated her on today's plan before saying goodbye to Jaxon. I then rushed off to my dentist appointment. Surprisingly it didn't take too long at my appointment so I was travelling home again in no time at all. I've now just parked my car in the driveway so I'm heading towards the house to go inside and see my baby boy. I'm so excited to see him because a cuddle from him always makes everything better. Even though the dentist went better than I thought, I still had a worrying morning so I need a little Jaxon cuddle.

"Hey, it's just me" I say as I walk inside the house.

"Hey" Ashley smiles. "Did you get on ok at the dentist?" she asks.

"Yeah, it was ok. It was just a cavity though so I had to get that sorted out. I blame Santana actually because she has had a bit of a sweet tooth during her pregnancy and I've been eating whatever she has so technically it's her fault" I joke.

"I'm sure she won't see it like that" Ashley replies.

"You're right, she'll probably kill me for saying that. I am joking though because I make all of my own decisions so it is my fault that I've been eating a lot of candy" I state.

"Jaxon is napping right now so I was just going to sit down for 10 minutes. I've just made myself a cup of coffee, do you want one?" she asks.

"No, I can't eat or drink anything right now but thank you" I smile. "I can hang out with you though while you drink your coffee if you want" I shrug.

"Sure" Ashley smiles. We then make our way to the living room and sit down.

"Thank you for looking after Jaxon today. I just couldn't take him to the dentist with me because he'd be too unsettled" I explain.

"Honestly, it's part of my job to be here when you need me so it fine" Ashley smiles.

"Seriously though, thank you for taking such good care of Jaxon. He is the most precious thing in mine and Santana's lives so it means a lot when you look after him so well" I say honestly.

"He's a good kid" she tells me.

"He is, not like me or his other mommy" I laugh. "I hope he doesn't cause us as much problems when he's older as Santana and I caused our moms in our teenage years. Santana was sneaking off to fashion shows before she was even allowed to go and I was always getting into trouble for disrupting my classes at school."

"I bet when you were younger you were always talking or making jokes, you seem like you would be that mischievous person in school" Ashley states.

"I guess so" I laugh.

"I think you would have been really cool to hang out with though" she says as she places her hand on my leg.

"What are you doing?" I ask sceptically.

"Nothing, sorry" she says as she pulls her hand away. "You're my boss so that wasn't appropriate. We were just talking so friendly that the lines got blurred for a second. I'm a touchy-feely person in general with my friends but I see now you're not one of my friends" she says feeling bad.

"We are friends but like you say you do work for me so maybe don't treat me as friendly as your actual friends if that makes sense" I say.

"Total sense, I'm sorry" she nods.

"Do you know, you would be as well just finishing early today since I'm back now. There is no reason for the both of us to be here with Jaxon" I shrug.

"Brittany, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I didn't mean anything by it" Ashley states.

"Yeah, I know but still, Jaxon doesn't need his nanny when his mommy is here so you go home and take the rest of the day to yourself" I reply.

"Fine" Ashley nods.

XXX

Ashley has gone home now so Jaxon and I were thinking we might take a trip into work to see Santana. We've not really got anything else planned for the day and I feel bad that Santana has to work when I'm not. Technically I should be working but since I had the urgent dentist appointment then I decided to take the day off. I'm feeling ok after the dentist though and it's still early in the day so I figured I should just go into work even if it's just to do a little paperwork when Jaxon naps.

"I'm really hoping mommy is in our office right now because I don't see her anywhere else" I tell Jaxon as we make our way through the building. "Hello?" I say as I open the office door and quietly push the stroller inside, waiting to see if Santana is there or not.

"Hey" Santana says surprised to see us. "What are you two doing here?" she asks as she gets up from her desk and walks over to kiss Jaxon in his stroller.

"It's still early in the day so we didn't think it was fair of us to be at home when you were working. Also, we missed you a lot so we wanted to come and see you" I smile.

"Oh, that's really cute" she smiles at us as she picks Jaxon up and holds him in her arms.

"Shall we sit for a moment or are you too busy right now?" I ask.

"I'm never too busy to take a few moments out of my day to talk to you and Jaxon so let's do it" Santana says as she carries Jaxon over to the couch as I follow them.

"You've missed mommy today, haven't you?" I say as I gently take my son's hand in mine.

"I've missed you too buddy" she smiles at Jaxon.

"What about me? Have you missed me today because like I said, I've kinda missed you" I admit.

"Yes of course I have missed you" she says as she looks at me.

"That's good" I smile.

"Hey, is your mouth sore?" Santana asks me.

"No, it's fine" I smile again.

"Good, I can do this then" she says before leaning in to kiss me. "So how did the dentist go then?" she asks curiously.

"It was fine and you were right, it didn't turn out nearly as bad as I thought it would" I reply.

"That's good" Santana smiles. "So, what is going on? Why do you have Jaxon on your own and where is Ashley?" she asks me curiously.

"I told her she could go home because there really was no sense in her hanging around when I've got the day off. It was good she was there for Jaxon while I was at the dentist but she really didn't need to stay much longer when I had a handle on things" I shrug.

"That's true" Santana nods.

"I was thinking I'll do some paperwork for an hour when Jaxon naps and then we'll head home again. It'll let me do a little work while still being here with you and then later it means Jaxon doesn't need to be in here with us all day if we head home early" I say.

"Sounds like a good plan so perhaps if I get started back working right now then I could maybe finish early and spend time with you both in the afternoon" Santana says as she gently places Jaxon in my arms.

"We'd love that" I say excitedly.

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*Friday 5th May 2023*

Santana and I were at work, working in the office this morning but now I'm not. I was feeling a bit out of sorts today about how much time away from Jaxon I spend so I told Santana I was going to finish my work at home. I tried to convince her to do the same and she really did want to but she had an afternoon meeting in the office with her staff that she didn't want to cancel so she figured it was best to stay at work than work at home. I did float the idea of her taking her meeting at home through video but she said it would just be less hassle to stay where she was and finish her working day at work. It did kinda suck but for the sake of Jaxon, I decided I'd still finish work at home than wait with Santana because at home he'd still see me a bit more than usual.

My plan didn't exactly last long though because no sooner was I working at home that it just got too tempting to hang out with my son. He was just in the other room with Ashley so the thought of me working so close to him but not with him felt wrong so I ended up stopping work altogether and just spent time with Jax. I'm just outside right now, putting some sunblock on because it's a wonderful day so I want to get some fresh air with Jaxon.

"Do you want some help?" Ashley asks me as she notices me struggling to cover my back and shoulders.

"Sure" I shrug. "I usually get Santana to help me but she's not here right now and I was kinda struggling on my own" I add.

"Ok, sit down" she tells me as she grabs the bottle of sunblock. She then squeezes some out onto her hands and rubs it into my shoulders.

"Thank you" I say gratefully.

"Has Jaxon been in the pool yet?" Ashley asks me curiously.

"He hasn't actually but I would like to take him into the water some time for a little splash about because I think he would really enjoy it" I say.

"Why don't we do it now then since you're about to head into the pool anyway" she suggests.

"I would like that but we shouldn't because Santana isn't here and I don't want her to miss the first time Jaxon is in the pool" I explain.

"Yeah, that is true" she agrees.

"I think that's probably enough sunblock on my shoulders so you can stop now, thanks though" I say as I stand up. "Are you ok watching Jaxon then if I take a little swim?" I ask.

"Yeah, of course" Ashley nods.

I go over to Jaxon and kiss him as he sits contently in his car seat with his teddy bear. I then make my way towards the pool and dive in. Ashley pulls a chair over and sits with Jaxon and plays with him as I start swimming. She makes sure he is comfortable and safe from the sun where he is sitting while I continue swimming lengths of my pool. I'm just starting to slow down swimming since I'm getting tired when I hear a door open and the all too familiar click of heels on the ground.

"Hey you're back" I say excitedly as I jump out of the pool and eagerly walk over to Santana.

"I am back" Santana nods. "What's going on?" she asks sceptically.

"I was just taking a swim while Ashley was watching Jaxon" I reply as I kiss my wife.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" she asks me questioningly.

"I was but I just couldn't work knowing Jaxon was here. I just felt too bad about being here near him but not actually being here with him if that makes sense" I explain.

"Fair enough" she says, her tone softening a little. "So have you finished working for the day then or are you going to do some later?" she asks.

"No, I am well and truly finished for the day. What about you?" I ask.

"Yeah, no more work for me today" Santana tells me. "I decided to cancel my meeting in the end because I really wanted to be here with you and Jaxon" she smiles.

"I guess this means it's your lucky day Ashley because you can go home early. Santana and I are both here now so there is no point you hanging around working when you could be having fun. We'll pay you for the full day though, don't worry" I say.

"Are you sure?" Ashley says.

"Honestly, I'm back now so it's all good. Go home and relax or hang out with your friends or something" Santana smiles.

"Ok, I'll see you both tomorrow" Ashley says.

"See you tomorrow" I smile.

"Bye Ashley" Santana says and then Ashley grabs her things and leaves.

"Ok Mrs Pierce, get that bikini on and get that sexy body of yours in this pool please" I say as I lift up my son in my arms.

"I hadn't really planned on getting in the water today babe" Santana replies.

"I thought we could let Jaxon take his first dip in the pool. Neither of us are doing much else today and it's a nice day for the pool. Not too cold outside but not too warm either that it's too warm for Jax" I explain.

"That might actually be fun to see Jaxon in the pool for the first time" she says excitedly.

"It will be so get inside and get that bikini on babe" I smile.

"Ok" Santana smiles back. "I'll be back in 10 minutes" she says.

Once Santana goes inside and upstairs to get changed, I head inside with Jaxon. I change him into some appropriate swimwear before taking him outside again. I put some sunblock onto the skin that's visible so his tiny arms and legs don't burn in the sun. I then put his little hat on his head and hang out with him as we wait on Santana. I want Santana to be fully there with me when I take him into the water so we're just hanging out at the side of the pool instead of in the water.

"Ok, let's do this" Santana says excitedly.

"Ok" I smile.

I place Jaxon in his car seat and sit it close to the side of the pool. My plan is to get settled into the pool first and then I'll gently lift Jaxon into the water. I don't want to just step into the water with him and give him a fright so I'll gradually get him used to things first. I'm just splashing about myself waiting on Santana entering the pool.

"I am so excited to see Jaxon's little face when the water tickles him" Santana states as she drops her bathrobe to leave her standing there in only her bikini.

"Oh god" I mutter to myself as I stare at my wife.

"What?" Santana asks confused as she enters the pool.

"You just look really hot right now" I say as I try to take my eyes off my wife. "I don't know how I'm supposed to concentrate on what we're doing when you look like that" I add.

"You're kind of hot yourself in your bikini" she smiles at me as she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls herself up to wrap her legs around my waist.

"Wrapping yourself around me does things to me remember and we can't do anything with Jaxon sitting staring at us waiting on us getting him into the pool" I point out.

"I know but surely I can have one minute to kiss you when you're looking sexy" Santana shrugs.

"Ok" I smile as she kisses me again. "Can I just say your boobs look massive right now" I state.

"Yeah, I'm pregnant, duh!" she laughs.

"No seriously, they look so big right now" I say as I unapologetically stare at my wife's chest. "Maybe the bikini enhances them or something because surely I would have noticed if they got this much bigger in such a short amount of time. I mean only yesterday I walked in on you in the shower so I should know how they look" I add.

"Ok, let's stop talking about my breasts and let's focus on Jaxon. He is looking at us like we're neglecting him and I don't want that" she smiles.

"Ok, sorry" I laugh.

I gently take Jaxon from his car seat and slowly dip his feet into the water. He doesn't really react much at the beginning so I slowly place him in the water a little more so it touches his knees. As soon as he feels the cold water from Santana splash his little legs, he starts giggling. Honestly, it's one of the most precious sights I have ever seen. Santana keeps putting little droplets of water on his skin and he starts giggling more.

"Do you like the water buddy?" Santana asks him as she smiles brightly at him.

"I think he really does" I say as I kiss my son's cheek.

"Uh…come on, share those kisses" Santana says as she points to her cheek.

"Honey, given half the chance I will kiss more than your cheek" I smirk at my wife as I lean over and peck her cheek.

"Yeah, I know you would" she laughs.

We continue playing in the water with Jaxon for a while. Santana holds him while I show my son some of the tricks I can do in the water. Santana then shows off her good swimming skills as she and I take turns to see who can do a couple of lengths of the pool the quickest. She did manage to swim faster than me which I wasn't totally excited about but I was happy because she was really enjoying herself and I love when she is in a good mood.

"Come on, we better get out of the pool now because I think Jaxon has had enough and you need to put some sunblock on" Santana states.

"We should get Jaxon out now but don't worry about the sunblock because I put some on not so long ago before I got in the pool" I smile.

"You didn't put any on your back and shoulders though so we should do that because you know how easily you burn sometimes" she replies.

"I do have sunblock on my back" I shrug.

"You can't have honey because you and I both know you can't reach it properly which is why I always need to help you and I haven't helped you today therefore you can't have any on your back" Santana shrugs.

"It's fine, Ashley helped me earlier so I'm all protected from the sun" I smile.

"I'm sorry, what?" Santana says as she narrows her eyes at me.

"Ashley helped me" I say nervously. Shit I am about to be met with an angry Santana, I can just sense it.

"Get out of the pool and take Jaxon with you, we're done here" she tells me as she makes her way over to the steps of the pool.

"Are you mad at me babe?" I ask. I think I already know the answer to the question though.

"Mad would be an understatement, Brittany" she says as she leaves the pool and wraps a towel around her body. She then grabs a smaller one and waits for me to bring Jaxon to her.

"Is this because Ashley helped me?" I ask slightly confused. She is the nanny so she often does help us as well as Jaxon with things so I'm not totally sure what the problem is.

"You let another woman touch you, you're damn right it's about Ashley" she says seriously.

"It was just some sunblock on my shoulders, it wasn't a big deal" I state.

"It is a big deal because I wasn't totally happy about you parading around in a bikini in front of her but to now know you let her touch your nearly naked body fills me with rage" Santana explains. "I just wish you wouldn't wear so little in front of other women. I let the bikini thing go initially because you have only done it once but now finding out she touched you dressed like that pisses me off" she adds.

"Don't you trust me?" I ask sadly.

"Oh, I trust you 100% Brittany, you know this. I just don't trust other people" she replies. "You know my hormones are all over the place making my moods swing from one to another so the least you could do is to try and stay on my good side so parading in a bikini in front of other people doesn't excite me" she adds.

"I really am sorry; I didn't mean any harm by it. I mean Mercedes and Tina used to put sunblock on me all of the time when we used to vacation together" I point out.

"That's different because I knew Mercedes and Tina were your friends and nothing more so it was harmless. I don't know Ashley like that or any other woman" Santana replies.

"I don't like it when you're mad at me" I point out.

"Believe me I don't like it either" she assures me.

"Honestly, there was nothing to it, she just put a little sunblock on my shoulders and it was over in a minute or so" I explain.

"I still don't like the thought of another woman's hands on you" Santana states.

"Ok well I really am sorry for not properly thinking about the consequences. Honestly, I just really wanted to swim so I just wanted my sun cream on so I could dive into the pool" I say. "I promise you it will never happen again…in fact I won't be in the pool at all again until you're here" I smile.

"Ok, good" she nods.

"I know you're sick of me saying sorry all the time and disappointing you but I do really mean it when I say I'm sorry. I really do hate upsetting you all the time" I sigh.

"Look, it is partly my problem because things that used not bug me bug me now so I am to blame sometimes. Deep down, I do know you don't mean any of this stuff" she says.

"That's good" I say as I wrap my arms around her.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

*Tuesday 9th May 2023*

"Brittany what are you doing?" Santana asks annoyed as she walks into the living room to find me playing on the floor with our son.

"I'm just spending some time with Jaxon" I shrug, not seeing the problem.

"That's great and everything but stop and get dressed" Santana states.

"It's fine, we have loads of time before we need to go to work" I shrug again.

"We're not going to work right now Brittany, you know this" Santana says annoyed.

"Wait…what?" I ask confused.

"We have the antenatal class today so you need to get dressed right now" she states.

"I thought that was tomorrow" I say as I get up off the floor.

"No, we had it rescheduled until today's session because I can't do it tomorrow. I told you this before" Santana says angrily.

"Chill babe, I'm sorry. I am clearly getting mixed up with the days" I say. Wow that anger came on quick.

"I am pregnant, tired and hormonal. The least you could do is pay attention to the things I say to you and we wouldn't need to fight" she replies.

"I really thought we were going to tomorrow's class and we were going into work right now" I say.

"I have a big meeting tomorrow so it's not possible to leave work during the day so you and I decided together to change our class until today. You do know this Brittany so hurry up and get dressed so we can go" she tells me.

"Ok, I'll get changed right now" I reply.

"I'll say goodbye to Jaxon just now and get you in the car. Just don't take ages to get ready because we don't have time for you to mess around this morning" Santana tells me.

"I'll get changed right now; I promise" I say before dashing off upstairs to get ready. I feel so bad right now because I honestly didn't mean to mix things up. It is coming back to me now that we had to change classes but I stupidly forgot to change the appointment time on the calendar on my phone so it still shows as tomorrow.

As soon as I have changed, I quickly fix my hair and touch up my makeup. I then run back downstairs and grab the files I need for work. I tuck them under my arm and then grab my purse as I make my way into the living room. I walk over to Ashley who has Jaxon in her arms and kiss Jaxon on the head.

"I must go now but I'll check in with you at some point" I tell Ashley.

"Ok" she nods.

"I love you sweetie" I say as I kiss Jaxon's head again. "Ok, I really must go now before Santana murders me" I state. I am only joking really but she won't be happy if I waste any more time.

"Santana was really hard on you, you know" Ashley states.

"No, she wasn't, she was right" I sigh. "Look, I'll talk to you later because I really really need to go now" I say before dashing out the front door. I walk over towards the car and open the door at the driver's side.

"What are you doing, get in the other side" Santana states annoyed.

"Sorry" I groan as I slam the door shut and run around to the other side of the car and get in. "I just assumed I was driving today that's why I went to that side."

"With your driving we'll 100% be late so I'm doing it" Santana states as she speeds off along the road.

We sit in total silence for the beginning of the journey. I'm scared if I say something, it might rile Santana up more so I keep quiet. The last thing she needs is to get even more annoyed or stressed because of me. I mean we've been to antenatal classes before when Santana was pregnant with Jaxon but it doesn't make it any less daunting. I'm always worried I will make a fool out of myself at these classes and look like the worst parent ever.

"I am so sorry honey for not paying attention" I apologise as I break the silence between us. "I love you so much so this wasn't on purpose. I was just getting lost with what was going on each day" I add.

"We're heading to the appointment now and I don't think we'll be late so it's fine" Santana states.

"Let me make it up to you tonight. You can have a pamper night or something where I'll cook and you can take a relaxing bath while I look after Jaxon all night" I say.

"It sounds nice but I think I'd rather spend my night with you and Jaxon, not apart" she tells me.

"Ok, we can do that then" I smile.

"Good" she smiles back.

"I love you" I say honestly.

"I love you too. So much" Santana assures me.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

*Thursday 11th May 2023*

Santana and I are both currently at work right now. I'm just working in the office doing some work on my computer while Santana is in the production department overseeing how things are going with the new maternity clothing line. Ashley was out taking Jaxon a walk in his stroller near where we work so she's just swung by to visit since she was in the area. I'm really glad she has turned up because getting to see my little boy always cheers me up and takes my mind off of a tough day at work.

"I've only got a few emails to send out so you might as well head home early today and have some time to yourself. Jaxon can stay here with me for another hour or so and then we'll head home together" I say.

"If you're still working, I don't mind waiting and looking after Jaxon while you finish" Ashley says.

"Honestly, it's fine. I want to get home soon anyway and make a start on dinner for Santana getting home from the meeting she has this afternoon" I reply.

"Speaking of her, you don't deserve Santana" Ashley states.

"Yeah, I know she's too good for me but we love each other and she's assured me I'm enough for her" I say with a shrug.

"No, I meant you deserve better" Ashley replies.

"There is no one better than Santana" I say while shaking my head. "Also, I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about my wife like that or my marriage. It's not really your business" I add.

"She doesn't treat you like an equal Brittany. The other day when she got pissed about the antenatal class just proves that. She treats you like a child and has no respect for you" she replies.

"That is not true, Santana treats me better than anyone I know. She loves me more than anyone has ever loved me" I state.

"Brittany, wake up" Ashley says shaking her head at me. "Santana is not good for you or good to you. She really does treat you horribly so you need to wise up and see that. I know you've told me before all you really wanted in life was a family but you can't stay with Santana just because that's what you have. You should have that family with someone who really loves you. You can't stay with her out of convenience" she adds.

"What is going on with you right now?" I ask confused. Why is Ashley talking to me like this and why has she all of a sudden started making these kinds of comments about my wife.

"I just can't stand around anymore and watch you get treated like this. You have been a friend to me and so kind ever since I started working for you so I hate seeing you get treated badly like this" she explains.

"Who is treating me badly? Santana?" I question.

"You deserve better, honestly" she says as she takes my hand in hers.

"Ok, you are blurring the boundaries again" I say annoyed while pulling my hand away from hers.

"I'm sorry, I just hate the way Santana treats you sometimes because I know you don't like it. You pretend it's ok but it's not ok. I can see it hurts you sometimes when she says certain things" Ashley says.

"You are really going too far now because disrespecting my wife is not ok" I shake my head in annoyance at Ashley.

"I know she hasn't been having sex with you lately because she said that the other day and that's not ok Brittany. Sex is a big part of a relationship so you deserve to have everything a relationship should offer. Santana is just not treating you right" she replies.

"I don't know what has come over you right now but snap out of it, seriously" I tell her.

"You really do deserve better" she says for the third time but this time she says it right before leaning in and kissing me.

"Uh…what the hell!" I say outraged as I aggressively push her away from me.


That's it for the chapter. Tune in for the next one to find out Santana's reaction.