Chapter 74: Exciting Times
Santana's POV
Monday 17th March 2025*
I've just arrived outside of my sister's apartment building so I've just parked up my car. The minute the car is secure, I rush outside and hurriedly make my way into the building. I waste no time in waiting for the elevator, instead running up the stairs to floor she lives on. Once I arrive at the door, I bang on it a few times. There's no answer so I get the key out and immediately unlock the door and let myself into the apartment.
"Right, what are you playing at?" I ask as I march into the living room to find my sister.
"Santana what are you doing here and how the hell did you get in?" Carly asks me annoyed as she looks up from her laptop.
"What is going on with you right now?" I ask.
"I will ask again; how did you get in here considering the door is locked?" Carly sighs.
"Brittany's keys and before you get all upset with her, she wasn't happy about me taking them so don't blame Britt. She did not want me to take them or use them" I explain.
"Why are you here?" Carly asks.
"To find out what is going on with you" I state.
"What is going on with me is that I am currently working right now so I'd appreciate not to be interrupted or for someone to break into my apartment" Carly glares at me.
"I didn't break in, I had keys" I state.
"Well, you still interrupted me" Carly replies.
"Yes, because you kept hanging up the phone when I was calling you" I point out.
"I know because I am working. Look I am really busy and on a deadline so I didn't want to be interrupted. I was going to call you back later" she tells me.
"Well, I am here now so we might as well talk" I tell my sister.
"Santana, I really can't talk right now. As I have said many times, I am really busy working and I have a deadline" Carly replies.
"Carly, you work for yourself so you can move things around and finish your work later. It's not like you have a boss who has given you a deadline so moving it won't matter too much" I point out.
"That may be so but I would like to get my work finished right now" Carly says.
"Look, the quicker we talk then the quicker I can leave you alone" I say.
"I suppose that's fair so what is it that you actually want to talk to me about so urgently" Carly asks.
"Your relationship" I say.
"What about it?" she asks.
"I had an interesting conversation with Jessica today, you know your girlfriend" I state.
"Ok" Carly looks at me confused.
"Bitch, what is going on with you?" I ask angrily.
"You might be my older sister Santana but we're both adults so stop speaking to me in that manner and stop calling me bitch" Carly says annoyed.
"I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated" I apologise. "Seriously though, what is going on in that head of yours lately?" I ask.
"I don't know what you mean" Carly shakes her head confused.
"You came to Brittany and I about three weeks ago and said you wanted to propose to Jessica" I state.
"Uh-huh, that's right" Carly nods.
"So, what the fuck happened?" I ask.
"Seriously Santana, I'm not having a conversation with you if you keep swearing at me" my sister replies.
"I'm swearing out of frustration and anger so I'm sorry" I apologise again while taking a breath to calm down.
"I know but I don't understand what you're angry about. You've been talking in riddles since you got here instead of getting to the point" Carly says.
"Ok, the point I want to get to is that I want to know what is going on between you and Jessica. One minute you want to propose to her and then the next you don't" I reply.
"That's not true because I still do want to propose to her" Carly tells me.
"Well Jessica doesn't seem to think that" I state.
"Well, I would hope not because when I propose I want it to be a surprise so ideally she shouldn't think that I want to" Carly explains.
"That's not what I meant" I sigh.
"What did you mean then?" she asks.
"Jessica told us that you've been extremely distant and secretive lately and she's really worried about it. I'm not going to lie I am worried too because you two seemed happy together so what changed?" I say.
"I admit, I may have been distant and secretive lately" Carly nods.
"Ok, so why?" I ask.
"Why do you think?" Carly says amused.
"Not a clue" I shrug.
"Because I am planning the proposal and I don't want Jessica to find out about it" Carly replies.
"Really? That's all it is?" I ask unsure.
"Yeah" Carly nods.
"It seems deeper than that Carly so are you telling me the truth?" I ask.
"Yes of course I am telling the truth" Carly states.
"Jessica seems really worried about your relationship. From what she was telling us, it really didn't sound like you were just planning a surprise. She thinks you don't want to be with her anymore and that you were better off as friends. She even expressed that she thinks you're having doubts about the whole thing and that you're not comfortable being in a relationship with another woman" I explain.
"She really said that?" Carly asks sadly.
"Yes, she did" I nod. "Look if you were having doubts about anything then you can talk to me Carly. I am your sister so I'm always here for you" I add.
"I'm not having doubts" Carly says defensively.
"I know Jessica confided in Brittany and I but at the end of the day you're my family so you can talk to me. I don't want you to be scared to say anything since we're close to Jessica as well" I tell her.
"Santana, I am not having doubts" Carly states seriously. "I admit it could look like I have been distant and not my usual self around Jessica but it is for a good reason. I am just so busy with work and trying to get the proposal all together" she adds.
"Maybe you need to cut back on work a little bit then because it's clearly stressing you and Jess out" I point out.
"I need all the work I can get right now because I have barely got my business off the ground not to mention, I have one hell of an engagement ring to pay for" Carly explains.
"Jessica loves you so much so she doesn't need some big fancy ring. I am sure any ring would mean the world to her so you don't need to overwork yourself to buy something" I say.
"So, you're telling me if Brittany proposed to you with a cheap ring, you'd love it just as much as the diamond she did give you?" Carly asks me questioningly.
"See, that's a different situation" I shake my head.
"How's that?" Carly asks.
"Because I pay Brittany's wages so I know what she can afford so if she was coming at me with some cheap shite then it was going back and she was buying me something more expensive" I shrug. "Bitch would not be getting off lightly buying something cheap and pocketing the rest of the money" I add.
"Oh, never change Santana" Carly laughs.
"What? What are you laughing at?" I ask confused.
"There are really only two rules for you in life. There are rules for everyone and then there's separate rules that only apply to you" Carly teases me. "It's ok for my girlfriend and the rest of us to have slightly cheaper jewellery that we can all afford whereas that could never happen to you. It can only ever be the best for Santana" she adds.
"Ok, whatever" I say waving off the comment. "I'm not here to discuss me, I am here to talk to you about Jessica" I say.
"Honestly Santana, everything is fine so can we drop this subject now" Carly asks me.
"Fine but Jess seems deeply concerned Carly about the situation so I would reassure her as best you can without spilling the secret" I state.
"I will" Carly nods.
"Ok, good" I say.
"I appreciate you coming over here and looking out for Jess but I really must get back to work now so if you don't mind, can you leave me to it" Carly says.
"Yeah, I'll go now" I say.
"I'll talk to you at some point" Carly says as she walks me to the door.
"Yeah, talk to you soon" I say before heading out the door.
As soon as I leave my sister's place, I get in my car and head straight home. I want to see my wife and children and spend some time with them and have dinner together before the children need to be in bed. The minute I arrive at home, I rush inside and go to find my family who are all in the kitchen. Brittany is cooking dinner while the boys play with some toys and Olivia is in her bouncer.
"Hello everyone" I say as I kiss my children on the head.
"We playing" Jaxon tells me smiling at me.
"I know, I can see you're having fun with your toys" I smile back at my son. "I am going to talk to mommy for a second but I'll be back over soon to spend time with you" I add.
"Ok" Jaxon shrugs.
"Hi" Brittany says as I make my way over to her.
"Hey" I smile as I kiss her cheek.
"So, what's going on with your sister then?" she asks.
"Everything is fine for Carly, she says" I shrug. "Apparently she has just been busy with work and trying to plan the surprise proposal" I say.
"It makes sense to me but you don't sound convinced" Brittany replies.
"Yeah, I don't feel convinced" I admit.
"Why not?" Brittany asks.
"Jessica just seemed so concerned and when she described things, it seemed like a lot more than planning a surprise" I say.
"She did admit that she was maybe overthinking things so maybe Jess wasn't thinking it through clearly. Maybe it's not as bad as it seems" Brittany says optimistically.
"Maybe, I don't know" I shrug.
"I guess we'll just need to give it some time and see what happens. I mean the only way to know for sure is to wait and see if and when the proposal happens" she says.
"Exactly" I nod in agreement. "Anyway, let's not worry about that right now since we're all here together as a family" I say.
"Yeah" Brittany smiles.
"So, do you need any help cooking?" I ask.
"No, I have it all covered so you can spend some time with the children if you want to" Brittany says.
"Sounds good, I will do that" I nod.
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Tuesday 18th March 2025*
Brittany and I are currently at home with the children. We've being doing bits and pieces of work when we can but mostly, we've been spending the day with the kids. I just can't bring myself to go back to work fully yet when all three children are so young so we're just taking things one step at a time. I mean eventually Brittany and I will be back in the office most of the week with the kids at daycare but we're not ready to transition into that too quickly.
"All of the kids are napping right now so I'm going to reply to a few work emails right now" Brittany tells me as she walks into the room where I am.
"That's cool" I smile at my wife.
"What are you up to?" she asks curiously.
"I was thinking I might see how things are with Carly today. I might just go over there and see if things have been smoothed over somewhat" I tell my wife.
"Ok" Brittany smiles.
"I know we're supposed to be letting them work it out themselves but I was hoping after my talk with Carly yesterday that she would have at least spoken to Jess to reassure her about everything. Also, I never actually offered to help my sister if she needed it with the proposal. I mean I never even asked what her plan was so maybe she could do with some assistance" I explain.
"I mean if talking to her again puts your mind at rest then why not" Brittany shrugs.
"I won't be there too long though because I do want to be here when the kids wake from their nap so we can hang out together" I say.
"That's cool" Brittany smiles.
As soon as I am ready to go, I leave the house and drive to Carly's place. Once I'm parked up, I head into the building and make my way upstairs. I knock on the door a few times but there is no response so I decide to let myself in with Brittany's keys again. I know Carly is definitely at home because I've already spotted her car outside and as I enter the apartment; I can hear the TV playing faintly in the background so clearly someone is home.
"Hey, it's me. Where are you?" I say but I get no response. "Carly, are you there?" I say as I start looking over the apartment for my sister. The minute I open my sister's bedroom door to see if she is in there, I instantly regret it.
"God Santana, you really need to stop using those keys and letting yourself in" Carly shrieks as she and Jessica look at me from the bed and let me tell you, what they were doing wasn't sleeping.
"Yeah, that was a bad idea today so it's all on me" I say as I turn around laughing.
"Look, go to the living room and wait there while we get dressed" Carly says.
"Ok" I say before hurriedly leaving the room.
I sit down on the couch and wait by myself. It feels like I am waiting forever but I'm guessing it's probably not even been that long. I just feel so uneasy right now because it's an awkward feeling walking in on anyone having sex let alone your own sister.
"Ok, we're in a better state of dress now" Carly says as she and Jessica enter the room.
"I've seen a few naked women in my time but never did I expect to see my sister and her best friend naked" I laugh.
"I am so embarrassed right now; I just can't look at you Santana" Jessica says mortified.
"Anyway, what are you doing here again…unannounced?" Carly asks me.
"I wanted to talk to you about something" I say.
"Ok and is your phone broken?" Carly asks.
"No" I frown.
"Then you should have called me first to see if you could have come over to talk or better yet, just talked to me on the phone" Carly says.
"You didn't answer when I called you yesterday so I wasn't too hopeful that you would answer today either, plus what I needed to talk about was better done in person" I explain.
"Ok, so what did you want to talk about?" Carly asks curiously.
"Um…" I don't know what to say right now. "Just talk about where we left off yesterday" I shrug as I give my sister a wink trying to gesture to her I can't fully say what about.
"Why are you winking at me?" Carly asks. Oh, for fuck's sake, can she not take a hint.
"I'm not, my eye just twitched" I lie.
"Look, you two don't need to pretend anymore. I know what is going on and all about the secret talk yesterday" Jessica smiles.
"You do?" Carly asks her girlfriend worriedly.
"Yeah" Jessica nods. "Santana was obviously here yesterday after I spoke to her and talked to you Carly about how I am feeling at the moment. She must have made you see that you and I had some things to sort out which we now have cleared up" she explains.
"Ok, yes I was here yesterday" I nod breathing a sigh of relief that she doesn't know about the proposal.
"I appreciate you talking to Carly for me and allowing us to smooth things over" Jessica smiles at me.
"It's no problem" I smile back.
"Yes, so that's the only thing we talked about yesterday and it's all cleared up" Carly says.
"In that case I will leave you both in peace" I say as I stand up from the couch.
"I'll walk you to the door" Carly says.
"Ok" I nod as my sister and I head towards the door with Jessica remaining in the living room.
"So, what did you really want me for today?" Carly whispers.
"Just to make sure you two were ok which you are and also, I just wanted to see if you needed my help with your proposal" I whisper back.
"No, it's ok, I have it covered" Carly replies.
"Ok good" I smile. "I will go now and we'll catch up soon" I say.
"We will" Carly nods and then I walk out the door to leave. "Oh, just one other thing Santana" she says.
"Yeah?" I say as I turn around to look at my sister.
"Stop using that key" she says seriously.
"I will, I have well and truly learned my lesson today" I laugh.
"Good" Carly nods.
"Anyway, bye" I smile.
"Bye" Carly smiles back.
I make my way back downstairs and outside, getting into the car. It doesn't take me too long to drive home so I'm there before I know. I'm just walking into my house right now but since I didn't stay too long at Carly's place then I'm home and the kids are still napping. I'm just looking for my wife now so we can hang out until the kids wake up.
"Hey, there you are" I smile at Brittany as I walk into our bedroom where she is.
"Hi" Brittany smiles back. "I didn't expect you home so quickly. Was Carly not home?" she asks.
"Oh yeah, she was home" I say with a chuckle. "But yeah, I am home rather quickly" I add.
"Did something happen for you to be so quick?" Brittany asks.
"Yeah, I kinda got a little more than what I asked for" I admit.
"What do you mean?" Brittany asks confused.
"I kinda let myself in again but instead of Carly being alone, she was with Jessica" I say.
"Ok" Brittany nods.
"It gets worse" I state.
"How so?" Brittany asks sceptically.
"I couldn't find them initially so I went through the apartment looking but not only did I find them in the bedroom but I found them naked in bed" I say.
"Oh wow" Brittany says amused.
"I don't know who it was worse for, me or them" I say shaking my head. "I mean Jess looked uncomfortable, Carly looked pissed and I tried to laugh it off but it wasn't funny you know. It was like a nervous laugh" I add.
"Yeah, that does sound a little awkward" Brittany laughs.
"I'm sure we'll all recover in time" I say.
"Yeah, I am sure you will" Brittany agrees.
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Saturday 29th March 2025*
It's been a quiet and relaxing morning in the Pierce household so far. Brittany, the kids and me all got up and had some breakfast before we took a nice morning walk together. We then came home and spent some time together, playing with the children. It's now nap time for all of the kids so they're sleeping at the moment while my wife and I just take some time to relax on the couch. It can be exhausting parenting three small children so we're just enjoying a quiet moment to rejuvenate and get our energy back.
"Oh my god!" Brittany says excitedly.
"What's wrong?" I ask confused.
"Tina has just put into our friends group chat that she's on her way to the hospital because she's in labor" Brittany replies.
"Wow, really?" I ask surprised.
"Yeah" Brittany nods. "I mean I think her due date was this week sometime" she adds.
"That's exciting. Hopefully she's not in labor for long" I say.
"Yeah, I hope so" Brittany smiles.
After the kids woke from their nap, we all had some lunch together. We then hung out with the kids and played with them and some of their toys. I'm now just watching the kids while Brittany is on her phone finding out how things are going with Tina.
"Tina has had the baby" Brittany tells me.
"That's great" I smile.
"It's a little boy and they're both well. Everything went smoothly" Brittany adds.
"That's good" I say.
"I mean do we go and visit today or give them some time on their own and visit tomorrow?" Brittany asks.
"I don't know. All of our friends visited us when we had the kids on the same day and I think we all went to see Mercedes the same day when Brooke was born. At the same time though, Tina is quite private about things and it's her first baby so she might want a little time to recover" I point out.
"I'm going to ask Mercedes and Quinn what they think" Brittany says.
"Ok" I smile.
After talking with the rest of our friends, we all decide to go to the hospital to visit Mike and Tina's new baby. They are a little more private about things but at the end of the day, it's such exciting news that we just wanted to at least celebrate the new arrival a little bit with them. All of us, including all of the kids are making our way to Tina's hospital room right now.
"Hey, it's just us" Mercedes says as she goes into the room first with us all following behind.
"We don't need to stay long if you guys just want some alone time with your son but we just couldn't wait to see the new baby" Brittany smiles.
"It's ok, I am glad you're all here" Tina smiles.
XXX
After we got home from the hospital, the kids, Brittany and me all had dinner together. It was a little later than usual so we ended up starting their bedtime routine a little sooner. The children have all been bathed and got changed so they're in bed now. Olivia fell asleep first but the boys were still awake so Brittany and I hung out with them a little longer and read them a story. Jaxon and Xavier are both asleep now in Jaxon's room. Recently the boys have been preferring to share a bedroom than have one each so we ended up moving Xavier's bed into Jaxon's room.
"They're so cute together, aren't they?" I say smiling fondly at my children.
"Mm-hmm" Brittany nods. I can tell she is preoccupied and her mind is elsewhere.
"What are you thinking about?" I ask my wife.
"We should have another baby" Brittany replies shocking me.
"For your sake I really hope you're joking because otherwise you'll be met with a very unhappy wife" I say unamused.
"I'm not joking, I'm serious" Brittany says as she looks at me.
"You better not be serious" I state annoyed. I cannot have any more children right now. It's just too much and I thought Brittany felt the same.
"Jaxon and Xavier are so close and it's cute but it worries me that Olivia will be left out and I don't want that to happen to her. I don't want what happened to me happen to her" Brittany explains. "We should have another baby so Olivia has someone" she adds.
"Babe…" I say softly. I think I see what's going on.
"My sisters were closer in age to each other so they've always been a lot closer to one another than they have with me. I mean obviously we all love each other but I sometimes felt left out and I don't want Olivia to feel like that. I want her to have someone close to her like Jaxon and Xavier have with each other" Brittany says.
"I appreciate what you're saying babe but it might not be like that. I mean I loved my own space when I was younger so maybe Olivia will be like me" I point out.
"What if she isn't though?" Brittany reasons. "I mean I know Jaxon and Xavier are so protective over Olivia so I know they're all close but I just worry that Jaxon and Xavier will be a lot closer to one another as they grow up since they're sharing a bedroom now and they're close in age" she adds.
"I can see what you're saying honey so we will have another baby eventually I'm sure but I can't right now, I just can't" I say honestly.
"It doesn't need to be this year but maybe sometime" she tells me.
"Ok" I nod.
"I suppose we better leave the room now before we wake up the boys" Brittany says.
"Yeah, we should" I agree.
"I'm just going to the bathroom quickly and then I'll meet you downstairs to hang out" my wife says.
"Sounds good, see you in a minute" I smile.
I then head downstairs while Brittany goes to the bathroom. I'm just getting us something to drink in the kitchen when I feel Brittany put her arms around me from behind.
"Santana" Brittany says to get my attention as she rests her chin on my shoulder.
"Yeah?" I smile.
"Can I tell you something?" she asks.
"Yeah, of course" I smile again at my wife.
"I love you" Brittany replies.
"I love you too, so much" I say.
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Wednesday 2nd April 2025*
Brittany, the kids and me are just getting ready to leave the house. Brittany and I are going into the office to work today so all three children will be going to daycare. Olivia is all ready to go and waiting in her carseat for us while I'm helping Xavier get ready and Brittany is helping Jaxon.
"Ok buddy, your jacket is all zipped up now so you're ready to go" I smile at my son.
"Ok" Xavier smiles back at me.
"Are you two ready now as well?" I ask Brittany as she and Jaxon walk to the hall where I am with the other kids.
"Yeah, almost. I just need to grab my purse which is right beside you" Brittany says.
"Ok" I say as I hand Brittany her purse.
"Thank you" Brittany smiles at me.
"You're welcome" I smile back at my wife.
"By the way, I see you have been doing well recently with teaching Jaxon new words" Brittany says.
"I mean I am trying to get him to learn some new words" I smile again.
"He tested some of them out on me 10 minutes ago when I was helping him put his sneakers on" Brittany replies.
"Cool" I smile.
"I couldn't believe it when he giggled and said 'fuck'. I was in total shock that you would do that" she tells me.
"Excuse me, I did not teach our son how to say fuck" I point out seriously.
"Well, I most certainly didn't teach it to him" Brittany replies.
"He must have learned it from someone else or he's accidently heard us when we're talking thinking the kids can't hear us" I say.
"Perhaps but we'll need to nip it in the bud before it gets too far. I don't want him to continue using the word and telling everyone else" Brittany says.
"I know" I agree. "We'll just need to talk to him about it but it'll have to be later because we all should really get going. I mean I know we don't have a specific time we need to be at work by but I would like the kids to be in a routine when they go to daycare so they're not just turning up at any hour of the day. The staff there have schedules for the kids so we don't want to disrupt that" I explain.
"Yeah, that's fine, let's just head to work now" Brittany nods.
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Saturday 12th April 2025*
I'm at the beach with Brittany and the children right now. Jaxon and Xavier are running around on the sand together playing with the ball while Olivia is sitting with Brittany making sculptures with the sand. I'm just lying on my towel catching some sun and getting a moment to relax. After sunbathing for a little bit, I decide I want to read the next chapter of the book I'm on so I reach into my bag to bring out my tablet. I'm just beginning to read the chapter when my wife suddenly starts shaking me and saying my name.
"Honey, your cell phone is ringing" Brittany says shaking me awake as my beach dream ends.
"Let's ignore it" I reply sleepily, trying to turn over in bed.
"Let's not" Brittany says leaning over me to get the phone before trying to hand it to me.
"Come on, we're tired" I say trying not to let my wife give me the phone.
"Seriously, you better answer it in case it's an emergency. I mean it is 1am so who calls at this time if it's not an emergency" Brittany says slightly panicked.
"Fine" I say as I sit up and take the phone.
"Thank you" Brittany says.
"Hello?" I growl into the phone. The response is just lots of screaming and excitement.
"Who is it?" Brittany asks tiredly and I shrug.
"Who is this?" I say into my phone.
"It's me Santana. You've got my number and you've answered the phone so how do you not know who it is" the person says and the more they continue to talk, I realise it's my sister.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"She said yes!" Carly screams excitedly. "I asked Jess to marry me and she said yes" she squeals.
"Ok" I reply, not saying anything else.
"Congratulations to you both. I am so happy for you" Brittany says into my phone as she leans over me.
"Thank you, Brittany, at least someone is happy for us" Carly replies.
"Don't mind your sister, she's just in a bad mood" Brittany states.
"Yeah, waking me up in the middle of the night at 1am and screaming into my phone isn't going to make me excited" I reply to my sister.
"Are you happy for me?" Carly asks.
"Yes, of course I am" I assure her.
"We're both really happy for you because it's amazing news but perhaps you should call us back later on when we're a bit more awake and we can properly celebrate" Brittany says.
"Ok, we'll do that" Carly replies.
"Congrats anyway, we'll speak to you soon" Brittany says and then we all hang up the phone.
"I am so not happy about being woken up" I say as I put my phone down at the side.
"I know but Carly was just excited" Brittany reasons.
"I know and I get it. I'll apologise later" I reply.
"That's cool" Brittany smiles.
"Before I was awoken, I was actually having a nice dream. It was just nice and simple" I say.
"What was going on in the dream?" Brittany asks curiously as she lies back down and wraps her arms around me.
"You, me and the children were at the beach together" I smile.
"Sounds nice, we should do that sometime for real" Brittany smiles.
"We should so let's make it a plan soon" I say. "Anyway, we should go back to sleep now" I add.
"Yeah, we should" Brittany agrees before kissing my cheek. "Goodnight, babe" she says.
"Goodnight" I say and then we get settled to go to sleep.
