Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own glee or this story


Santana sprinted down the hallway and found Brittany's room in the ER quickly, she pulled the curtain back and ran right to the bed, where Brittany was lying down, her eyes closed. Santana took in Brittany's appearance, noticing she didn't look too sick or injured, aside from the red mark on the side of her face and a small bandage, where she hit her head when she passed out. She grabbed her hand and kissed it, causing Brittany to open her eyes and stare at her, a few tears forming. Santana shook her head and used her thumb to wipe Brittany's tears away from her eyes, before grabbing her hand again.

"Hey." Santana smiled, rubbing Brittany's knuckles with her thumb. "Hey Santana." Brittany whispered, blinking the tears out..

"Can you sit up?" Santana asked. "Are you in pain?"

"No pain, well, aside from my head now, and my back from falling." Brittany told her as she slowly sat up, Santana helping her. The Latina sat on the bed and hugged Brittany tightly. She kissed her gently on the lips and sighed, before running her fingers through Brittany's hair.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Brittany nodded.

"Scared the hell out of me, baby." She admitted quickly. "Don't scare me like this." She added softly, with a small smile, which Brittany returned. "Let me check you out." Santana continued to stare at her before taking her stethoscope from around her neck and checking Brittany's lungs. "Deep breaths, Brit." She said softly. Brittany nodded and took as deep a breath as she could while Santana moved the stethoscope around her wife's back and chest, listening carefully. "You sound clear, any chest pain when or pain anywhere at all when you take a deep breath?"

Brittany shook her head no quickly. "Where are the girls?" Brittany asked as she looked around the room. "Fuck, I gotta go get Tay from school." She tried to get out of bed but Santana shook her head and held her down.

"Quinn is picking Taylor up, and she got Skylar from daycare. They are both okay." Santana assured her. "She came to my office to tell me you passed out and got Sky, without me even calling or anything."

Brittany nodded. "Can you check my chart? I trust the doctor and everything but I trust you more, and you're my wife and have been a surgeon for so long."

Santana blushed. "Of course." She grabbed the chart from the end of the hospital bed. "Lay back down, baby, try to stay awake in case you have a concussion."

"They didn't test for that." Brittany replied.

"What the fuck?" Santana frowned. "You hit your head, the chart says you were disoriented when you woke up, and they didn't fuckin check for a concussion?" She grabbed her medical bag and took Brittany's blood pressure, comparing it to the one on the chart, her eyes focused on Brittany the entire time. Every time Brittany would close her eyes for too long, Santana would immediately shake her arm to wake her up. "Stay awake, B."

"I'm up." Brittany assured her.

Santana went to the sink and washed her hands quickly before coming back over to Brittany and lifting the bandage on her head. "No stitches?" She asked Brittany.

"No, they said they just glued it."

Santana sighed while she examined her head. "It doesn't look too deep, and it's small, so glue is good. Let me check out your back, any bruising?" She replied as a doctor came into the room.

Santana turned right away to address the doctor. "I want a concussion test, a head CT, and she needs cushions for her back, she's had back surgery and she twisted her back when she fell so ..."

The doctor raised her hand to Santana to stop her from speaking and stared at her. "And you are?"

Santana scoffed. "I'm Dr. Santana Lopez, chief of cardiac surgery, assistant chief of surgery at Mercy Grace Surgical Hospital in Manhattan, and most importantly, I'm Brittany's wife." She rattled off quickly, before grabbing Brittany's hand and shaking her arm, when she saw her eyes were closed again.

Brittany opened her eyes and cleared her throat. "I'm awake Santana."

"Well, Dr. Lopez, I've examined Brittany and didn't deem it necessary for a concussion test, but if it will relax you, I can do one." The doctor stated. "I'm Dr. Willis, Denise Willis, and I've heard your name around before, you are quite the surgeon."

"Thank you." Santana nodded, she then turned to Brittany. "I'm right here with you, baby, I'm not going anywhere." She assured Brittany, kissing her knuckles.


Quinn pulled up to Taylor's school, and smiled at Skylar, who was slowly waking up in the backseat, a frown on her face. "Hey Smiley." She waved to the baby, who stared at her, before finally smiling. "I'm so excited to hang out with you today, it's been a while since we played, huh?"

"Mami." Skylar asked.

"You'll see your mami very soon, but you can play with your Q today." Quinn smiled, hoping that Skylar would take that as an answer, and be okay with it.

"Momma later?" Skylar asked, staring at the bright green mittens on her hands, opening and closing them slowly before locking eyes with Quinn.

"Si." Quinn nodded. "We'll see your mommies later." She stated slowly in Spanish, hoping she said it correctly.

Skylar smiled and nodded as Quinn sighed in relief as her eyes scanned the parking lot for Taylor, she spotted the young Latina and got out of her truck, she flagged Taylor down, smiling when she came running over.

"Hey Aunt Quinn." Taylor smiled happily as she hugged her tightly. "Hey Tay, how was school, honey?"

"Good." Taylor shrugged. "What are you doing here?"

Quinn cleared her throat as she grabbed Taylor's backpack off of her shoulder for her. "You and Sky are going to hang out with me this evening, how does that sound?"

Taylor looked around and shook her head. "Mami is coming to get me, we have to get my art supplies for my project today." Taylor then glanced in the window of the truck and locked eyes with Skylar, who was staring at her and began to wave. She waved at her sister with a smile before frowning. "We aren't supposed to get in the car with anyone."

"Taylor, you know me, honey." Quinn said softly. "I've picked you up from school tons of times, and you've been to my house, and I've been to yours."

"Can I call my mom?" Taylor asked. "I just want to talk to her first."

Quinn nodded and ran to the truck, she winked at Skylar, who was watching her every move, kicking her feet as she waited. "Tay!"

"She'll be right here next to you really soon." Quinn told her as she grabbed her phone and handed it to Taylor, who was watching Skylar closely. Taylor quickly called Santana, who answered right away for her, after a quiet conversation of Santana telling her it was okay to go with Quinn, and her assuring her that if Quinn ever comes to get her it's okay, and that she would see her later at home, Taylor relaxed.

"Sorry Aunt Quinn, I just wanted to be sure." Taylor handed Quinn her phone back. "Do you know why my moms couldn't come?" She asked as she climbed in the back seat with her sister, and hugged her tightly before kissing her on the forehead. "Hey Sky Sky."

"Hi Tay." Skylar blushed as she yawned and began to rub her eyes, Taylor slipped her mittens off for her before putting her seatbelt on.

"I just want to hang out with you two today." Quinn smiled. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Taylor smiled. "I need your help with my social studies homework." She told Quinn as she reached in her backpack and looked over her assignment. "I was going to ask my mom if I can call you for your help, but this is much better."

"Fishies!" Skylar tapped Taylor on the arm and began to pout.

"Oh, Skylar needs her snack." Taylor told Quinn.

Quinn nodded and dug through the diaper bag in the front seat and found a small snack bowl for Skylar full of Cheerios and another one full of colorful Goldfish crackers. She handed Skylar the bowl and laughed when she smiled brightly and immediately stuck her hand in the bowl.

"I'll look at your homework when we get to my house, but let's go get your art supplies. Do you know what you need?" Quinn asked, pulling into traffic.

"Yeah, I have my list." Taylor replied, accepting a fish from Skylar and tossing it in her mouth. "Aunt Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we get pretzels from the mall?" Taylor asked.

"Hmmmmm, I think I can make that happen." Quinn winked at her through the rear view mirror. "But then homework."


Thanks again Quinn. Santana said softly into the phone as she made her way through the pharmacy.

Not a problem at all. How is she doing? Still at the hospital? Quinn asked, holding a spoonful of macaroni to Skylar's mouth, laughing when the baby shook her head no, before laughing and eating the spoonful with a big smile.

No, we are at the pharmacy now, Brittany has a prescription for some pain as a just in case, so we are picking that up, then going home. She's a little sore from how she fell, but other than that, she's doing good. Santana glanced at Brittany, who was holding her hand as they walked through the store.

That's good, I'm feeding the girls dinner right now, then I can drop them off.

Quinn told her, laughing at how fast Taylor was eating, one of her biggest fans of her oven fried chicken.

Okay, I may need you to stay with Brit here for an hour or so while I go buy Taylor's art supplies, she has to take them to school tomorrow.

I took care of it, and we went after school.

Thanks, how much was the total, I can get some cash out?

Don't worry about it, Santana, my treat. Quinn replied. Godmother duties.

Q, you don't have to pay for Taylor's school supplies. Santana sighed. "Grab

some vitamins, baby." She told Brittany.

I honestly don't mind Santana, we got everything on the list, and Skylar got a toy stuffed banana, she wouldn't put it down in the store. Quinn laughed. Spending time with the girls is repayment enough, and yes I'm sober.

I wasn't going to ask that. Santana replied truthfully, her eyes focused on Brittany's movements, looking for any signs of dizziness. Thanks again for buying the supplies.

No problem at all. I'll be over with them after they finish dinner. Quinn told her before hanging up the phone.

"Everything okay?" Brittany asked, as Santana dropped her hand and braced her back.

"Yea, I was going to take Taylor to get her art supplies for school tonight, but Quinn bought her everything...she doesn't want us to pay her back at all." Santana explained, sliding her hand from Brittany's back and wrapping it around her to rub her side. "Still feeling okay?"

Brittany nodded. "I feel okay, San. Just a little tired."

"Okay, well I'll make you a little dinner when we get home, then you can lay down and rest. You have to eat to take these pills." She held up Brittany's prescription before setting it back in the basket.

Santana talked to Brittany the entire way home, hoping to keep her alert and awake, even though they determined she didn't have a concussion. As she turned down the street to their house she glanced at Brittany and sighed. "I think you're overworked, Brittany."

"Santana..."

"Seriously, you are literally always working, baby, you work nine hours in the office, then you come home and work when the girls are in bed, sometimes you're up until one in the morning." Santana raised an eyebrow.

"Just in time for you to run to a surgery." Brittany countered back.

Santana rolled her eyes. "We both know that's different. I get called into work Brittany, I don't stay up and call the hospital trolling for surgeries." She pulled into the driveway and stared at Brittany. "You have to get more rest, take the next couple of days off, you passed out at work, I'm sure no one will judge you for taking a few days off...please."

"Okay." Brittany nodded. "I'll take the rest of the week off."

"Thank you, I'm going to take off with you, and make sure you rest." Santana smiled as she grabbed the bag from the store and hopped out of her truck. "I called and had your car towed here, flat bed tow, of course." She told Brittany, who was staring at her car in the driveway, confused as to how it was at the house.

Brittany got out of the truck when Santana opened the door for her and grabbed her hand, leading her to the house. She grabbed the mail from the mailbox and thumbed through it quickly before stuffing it in the bag they had with them. Once they were in the house, Santana helped Brittany upstairs and took a long hot shower with her, wanting to be sure she wasn't dizzy at all, before having her lay in bed, she handed her the TV remote, and took her laptop, phone, and iPad out of the room, making sure Brittany wasn't able to work, tossing them on the bed in the guest room.

"I'll make you some dinner, I'm sure the girls will be here soon too, Quinn texted to see if we were home." Santana told Brittany, who was flipping through channels.

She went downstairs and began to pull out vegetables to steam and chicken to sautee when the doorbell rang, she jogged to the door when she heard a small incessant knocking, knowing it was Skylar, who loved to knock on doors She smiled brightly as she opened the door and Taylor hugged her tightly.

"Hey mami."

"Hey sweetheart, how was school?" Santana asked, kissing her on the forehead before winking at Skylar, who lunged for her out of Quinn's arms. "Hey Sky Sky."

Skylar grabbed her face and smiled happily. "Mami."

"Thanks again Quinn." Santana smiled. "Do you want to come in?"

Quinn shook her head. "I need to get going."

"Taylor, go put your supplies up please, and get started on whatever homework you have left while I start dinner for your mom." Santana told her as she set Skylar down and began to take her winter outer gear off of her. "Go play, Sky."

"Play wif Sky."

"Mami will play with you later."

"Thanks Aunt Quinn." Taylor hugged the blonde tightly before running upstairs.

"How's Brittany?" Quinn asked when the girls were out of earshot.

Santana set Skylar's coat and boots to the side and glanced at Quinn. "She's okay, laying down in bed, I'm going to make her a little dinner before she goes to sleep."

Quinn nodded. "Glad she's doing better. Have a good night."

As she turned to leave the house, Santana stopped her. "Quinn, wait..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for today, I don't know what I would have done if I had to get Sky and Taylor, and deal with this; thanks for coming to the hospital to get me, you didn't have to do that, but you did." Santana told her. "We have our differences, but you've always had the girls' best interest at heart, Brittany and I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome. I love those girls so much." Quinn nodded. Santana stared at her. "Hey, why don't we grab a cup of coffee soon?"

"Sounds good, have a good night." Quinn told her with a small wave before leaving the house.

"Mami!" Skylar screeched as she ran over to Santana with a circle puzzle piece.

"I missed you today." She picked her up and kissed her on the cheek. "Let's go see your momma."

Santana carried Skylar up to their bedroom, where Taylor was laying down facing Brittany. "So you hit your head?" Taylor frowned, lightly touching the bandage on Brittany's face.

"Yes, but I'm okay, baby, nothing to worry about. Your mom came to the hospital and talked to the doctors about the stuff I didn't really understand, and she's been taking good care of me." Brittany explained, glancing at Santana to the side, and winking at her.

"Momma!" Skylar smiled as Santana walked in the room and set her on the bed, letting her crawl over to Brittany, who sat up and opened her arms. She waited for Skylar to crawl in her lap before kissing her on the cheek.

"Why didn't you tell me momma was hurt?" Taylor turned and asked Santana sternly.

Santana sat on the bed and stared at Taylor. "Because you worry a lot Taylor, and I wanted...no I needed you to stay calm for Skylar. It wasn't serious, your mom is going to be perfectly fine."

"She has a bandaid on her face." Taylor frowned.

"Yeah, but she didn't get stitches, she just has a little cut, and I can show you how to clean it tomorrow." Santana offered.

Taylor pursed her lips, causing Brittany to laugh at how much she looked like Santana at that moment. "I don't like medicine stuff, touching blood is nasty, gross."

"Oh yeah, you're going to be a lawyer?" Santana nodded.

"Nope, an ad executive like momma." Taylor smiled, cuddling closer into Brittany's side. Brittany wrapped her arm around her daughter, as Skylar began to pull on her bottom lip, laughing to herself in the process. She then reached for Brittany's bandage for the third time, the blonde moving her head and grabbing Skylar's hand to nibble on her fingers, making her blush.

"That's right." Brittany nodded happily.

"Momma owie." Skylar reached again for the bandage but Brittany made a silly face at her and ducked her head.

"Outnumbered." Santana laughed.

"Wait...nope, I have my future Dr. Lopez- Pierce right here." She tapped her cheek and waited for Skylar to happily kiss her, before the baby reached for the bandage again. "I'll get started on dinner, Brit."

"Thanks. Taylor, go get your homework so I can check it for you." Brittany yawned.

Santana turned to leave the room but Skylar stood up quickly. "Go wif mami." She shook her head.

"Okay." Santana scooped her up and carried her out of the room with her and down to the kitchen. She handed Skylar an applesauce package and began to season the chicken. "What did Sky Sky do in daycare?" She asked her daughter, who was sucking loudly on her treat. "Were you nice to the teacher today?"

Skylar, who had been on a little mean streak in daycare, looked at her mother and smiled while shaking her head no. She grabbed a handful of Santana's hair and smelled it, causing the older Latina to laugh.

"Why were you naughty?" Santana asked her as she flipped the chicken over and continued to season the other side. She then shifted Skylar in her arms and emptied a bag of broccoli into the steamer.

"Sky play at skoo." Skylar told her mother.

"No, you've been naughty." Santana turned her head and kissed her daughter. "You won't share blocks, you don't listen to Miss Heather, and you pushed a little girl, that's not nice."

Skylar stared at her and began to suck loudly on her snack before shrugging.

"You have to behave, I have to talk to your teacher now." Santana sighed. "You know how to share."

"No share." Skylar mumbled.

"Yes, share." Santana told her as Skylar continued to twirl her hair around her fingers.

"Bua?"

"You want your abuela?" Santana asked with a smile as she set broccoli and cauliflower into the steamer.

"Si."

"Hmmmm, we can call her on the computer tomorrow, and you can talk to her." Santana nodded. Skylar smiled and tangled her hand in Santana's hair, leaning on her chest. "Did you have fun with Aunt Quinn?"

Skylar didn't respond and instead watched Santana's every move as the Latina navigated through the kitchen, working with just one arm since she was still holding her. Santana sang the alphabet song as she cooked dinner quickly. Skylar joined in on certain letters, but recited all her numbers in both Spanish and English. Santana rocked her and danced around the kitchen, lulling her to sleep before taking her upstairs and quickly changing her into pajamas and laying her down. She glanced in their bedroom and saw Taylor fast asleep, Brittany spooning her, fast asleep as well. Santana watched them for a few minutes, noticing how tightly Brittany held Taylor, who had her head tucked under her mother's chin, her little arm resting around her waist. Santana grabbed a blanket and covered the two of them up, checking Brittany's neck for a fever quickly.

Santana kissed them each on the forehead and went back downstairs, she wrapped up everything she cooked and put it in the fridge to save for lunch the next day. She instead ate a granola bar, an apple, and chugged a bottle of water while watching the nightly news, wanting to let Brittany and Taylor cuddle in peace for a little longer, and needing a few minutes to herself. She then checked her email looking through the news account emails she'd received, deleting the stories she wasn't interested in, and starring the one she wanted to read the next morning. She then opened the mail, tossing out the junk mail, sticking a letter about Taylor's tuition fees for the second semester on the fridge, and setting the other bills in her office to pay later that week. After turning off the lights and double checking that the doors were locked she headed upstairs to their bedroom, she rubbed Taylor's back to wake her up, telling her to put pajamas on and she could come back to bed with them. She then woke Brittany up to get under the covers, the blonde groggily slipped under the covers as Santana slipped her socks off for her, knowing Brittany would end up kicking them off in the middle of the night., she then placed a heated patch Brittany's back, when she noticed Brittany groan lightly when she shifted to get comfortable. The Latina changed into a small pair of shorts and a long sleeve thermal shirt.

By the time Santana finished checking Brittany's cut, making sure the glue was still holding, Taylor sleepily came back to the room and climbed back in bed, cuddling close to Brittany again, who wrapped her arm around her. She kissed the back of Taylor's head and drifted back to sleep quickly. Santana made sure the baby monitor was on and scooted as close as possible to Brittany, wrapping her arms around Brittany's, which were resting around Taylor. She peppered Brittany's neck with kisses and nestled her head between her neck and shoulder.

"Good night, baby." She whispered.


10am

Brittany sat in bed, Skylar in her lap as the two of them watched a cartoon on TV. Skylar bounced around and laughed as Brittany moved her arms all around to dance with her. Skylar jumped to her feet, Brittany holding her tightly around the waist and began to dance around with her happily.

"What is this cartoon called?" Santana asked as she walked in the room, a tray of breakfast in her hands.

"Dinosaur!" Skylar pointed to the screen.

"Good job, Sky Sky." Brittany nodded.

"How many dinosaurs are on the screen?"

"Two dinosaurs." She held up three fingers and smiled when Brittany pushed a finger down for her.

"Good job!" Santana smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"She watches this all the time, Santana." Brittany laughed. "How don't you know it's called BJ the Dinosaur and Friends?"

Santana stared at the screen before lifting Skylar off of Brittany's lap and setting her down next to her in the bed, Skylar frowning at her until she handed her a pancake and laughed when her big brown eyes lit up and she took a bite, still staring at the screen. "I don't know, B, all the cartoons look the same." She shrugged. "I hope you're hungry, I made a lot of food this morning."

Brittany looked at the stack of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, sausage patties, and bacon strips. "Clearly." She laughed, lifting her fork and breaking a sausage patty in half, handing it to Skylar, who grabbed it quickly. "Thank you for breakfast." She lifted Skylar back in her lap, and reached around her to begin eating herself as the baby leaned back on her chest and once again focused on the cartoon.

The Latina finally tore her eyes off of the cartoon and nodded. "You're welcome, you aren't lifting a finger for a couple of days." She grabbed Skylar's pancake, her eyes watching her mother's angrily as she began to whine instantly and reach for it back. She glared at Santana as she dipped it in the cup of syrup she had, before handing it back to her. "I'm not taking it from you." She laughed when Skylar snatched it back and stared at it, unsure of what Santana dipped it in. She looked between the pancake and her mother before frowning at the pancake in confusion and eating her sausage instead.

"She's serious about her food, like you." Brittany laughed. "Eat it Sky, it's okay."

"Don't mess with our food." Santana smiled.

"I'll relax this week, as much as possible, but I have to go to Arizona for work next week, Santana, I can't cancel that." Brittany reminded her.

Santana sighed. "I know, I'm not asking you to, just relax before you go." She lifted a forkful of eggs to Skylar's mouth, which she opened wide and ate quickly before stuffing more pancakes in her mouth.

"So what are we watching Sky?" Santana tapped her on the arm and asked.

The baby looked up at her mother and scrunched her face up while smiling. "Dinosaur."

"Okay, let's watch BJ?" She looked to Brittany for confirmation, which her wife gave with a nod as she continued to eat her pancakes. "Let's watch BJ the dinosaur."

After the three ate breakfast, Skylar engrossed in her pancake and cartoon the entire time, Santana noticed Skylar's eyes starting to droop so she went to clean up the kitchen while Brittany cuddled her close.

"Let's take a nap." Brittany kissed Skylar on the top of the head and pulled the comforter higher on her lap, covering most of Skylar's body.

"No nap." Skylar shook her head.

"Yes, napping." Brittany replied softly as she turned Skylar to cuddle closer to her and rest on her chest. "Go to sleep Princess." She whispered, rubbing Skylar's back while rocking side to side.

"Momma?"

"Yes baby?"

"No nap." Skylar mumbled through a yawn.

"Okay." Brittany nodded with a smile as Santana walked in the room, smiling at the sight of Brittany humming softly to Skylar. She leaned against the chest, knowing Brittany didn't notice her presence yet, her eyes still focused on Skylar, who was staring back up at her.

Santana took a picture on her phone, she quickly checked her messages before getting back in bed. "Should I take her to her crib?"

"No, momma." Skylar shook her head when Santana reached for her. She gripped Brittany's shirt tighter and glared at her mother, causing the older Latina to laugh.

Santana held up her hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, you can cuddle with your momma." She pouted to Brittany. "I wanted some alone time." She whispered to Brittany as she cuddled close by her side, running her fingers through Skylar's curls.

"We'll get our time." Brittany assured her, she looked down at Skylar, and saw she was fast asleep, so she turned her head and caught Santana's lips in a soft kiss.

Santana raised an eyebrow and deepened the kiss, she cupped Brittany's face and pecked her lips again. "So I need a crash course on all the cartoons Skylar watches so I can talk to her about them, what's this one?"

Brittany laughed. "This is Doc McStuffins."

"Doc?" Santana asked happily. "She's a little doctor?" Brittany rolled her eyes playfully. "Yes, she's so cute too."

"Ohhhhh, and she's a little black girl!" Santana beamed. "How cute? I love that Skylar has so many cartoons she can watch with kids of different races. Does she have these toys?"

Brittany continued to rock Skylar slowly as she settled into a deeper sleep, sticking her hand in her mouth, which Santana pulled out immediately. "She has a few, but we can get her more for Christmas."

"Okay." Santana rested her head on Brittany's shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay today."

"Thanks for taking care of me, and thank you for working with Quinn on this." Brittany replied.


Thoughts?