Chapter 2

Santana was sweaty, her body ached dully from the uncomfortable airplane seat, she had a headache, was hungry and tired. Even though she wasn't with Brittany she hadn't been able to sleep on the plane, so she'd watched the equalizer, which Puck had recommended a while back. She figured it was probably a good movie when you had enough sleep and good food. She decided to watch it again another time before passing judgement.

It was all worth it to be home though. Traveling always made her so appreciative of San Jose. Their little slice of perfection in her opinion. The temperature was perfect, the size of the city was perfect, the streets and air was cleaner than in New York, and it had a lower than average crime rate. Perfect.

The drive to her house felt impossibly long. Every time they stopped at a light or to give way to another car Santana had to fight a groan. Eventually she closed her eyes, forcing herself to take deep breaths. The excitement bubbling in her stomach was strange, considering she was just going home to her wife and kids, but there it was. She was excited to see their reactions, considering Brittany thought she was coming back in the evening, but she was also nervous for some reason. Jesús and Kyler were old enough to understand when she or Brittany left for work. They didn't like it, but they understood what was meant by 'I'm going to work.' They knew that work didn't mean forever, and that eventually she and Brittany came back. But a month was a long time. It was the longest time either of them had left the twins, and Santana wasn't sure what she'd be returning to.

She hoped to every god that it wasn't tears.

Finally the car pulled up to her gate. It was so oddly comforting to see that the gate was the same. A reminder that as far as she goes, and for as long, home will always be long. Something settled inside Santana. She was still excited to see her family, but in a calmer way. Like in a 'however they reacted she would be okay' way.

"Thanks Rudolph." Santana said, grinning as she unclipped her seat belt.

"Rudolphus."

"That's what I said." Santana smirked as she hopped out of the car. Rudolphus helped her take her suitcases out of the car, carrying them to the front door.

"Anything else Mrs Lopierce?"

Santana grinned. She'd told Eve to write Lopierce on any documents that weren't legal, instead of Lopez-Pierce, just loving the way her and Brittany's names meshed together. It was nice to see the effects of that decision.

"No, that's all thank you."

Rudolphus nodded, turning to walk back to the car.

"Don't get too cold up there in the North Pole." Santana called after him. "The sun seems to have helped your nose, don't want it turning red again do ya!"

Rudolphus didn't turn to look at her. Didn't laugh, smile, or even glare at her. He simply got into the car and drove out of the gate.

Santana couldn't help feeling immensely proud of herself.

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Brittany and the boys were in the backyard when Santana walked into the house. Brittany had one of them on her back, gripping onto her for dear life as she ran away from the other, who was chasing her with a water gun.

Santana put her purse down on the kitchen counter, pulled out one of the island chairs to sit on and watched. She laughed when Jesús (she guessed) sprayed water right into Brittany's eyes, causing her to scream out, and when she subsequently dragged Kyler (again she was guessing) from her back to use him as a human shield. The high pitched squeals and giggles of both boys had Santana's smiling so wide she could actually feel her dimples.

"Okay you got me." Brittany finally yelled as Jesús continued to shoot water at her, dropping Kyler (still guessing) gently to the grass and raising her hands. "You got me. You win." Jesús didn't stop. He was standing so close to her that Santana guessed the jets of water might actually hurt Brittany. Brittany had her hands up, trying to shield her face, but it wasn't doing much. Her face was drenched.

"It's too windy!"

'It's too windy' was a tactic Brittany and Santana had stated using to get the twins to calm down. They would often build off of each other's energy, which meant a lot of the time it would spiral out of control. Screaming, fighting, crying, laughing, whatever it was, Brittany and Santana couldn't get them to stop for anything. It was like the boys didn't even hear them. But when they'd taught them, basically trained them to drop everything and take a few deep breaths when one of them called out that it was windy, they'd found the perfect solution.

Both boys didn't like strong wind. The way it blew trees and leaves and their hair. The way it sometimes pushed them over or ruffled their clothes, basically everything associated with strong wind, they didn't like. It had resulted in many frightened tears for a few months, until Brittany had come up with a way to help them through it. Grounding them when everything felt too out of control. She would kneel next to them, hold her palm against their chests and count to five with them taking in deep breaths as she did. After doing that a few times, Santana had realised that the boys didn't cry anymore when it was too windy. They simply ran to Brittany, yelling 'it's windy!' and she would drop to her knees and count.

Watching Brittany do the same thing now, Santana was glad she'd had the idea to try the tactic in other situations as well. Jesús was no longer screaming manically as he shot Brittany over and over again. The water gun was hanging limply in his hand, nearly dragging on the floor. Kyler was still smiling, but his mad giggling had also stopped.

Santana couldn't take it anymore. She got up and slid the glass door open, stepping out into the backyard. Jesús and Kyler turned at the same time Brittany looked up, massive grins taking over all of their faced.

"MAMI!" The twins yelled, abandoning Brittany and sprinting towards her. Santana bent low so that they ran straight into her arms, wrapping them into the tightest hug she could give them.

"You back!"

"Yeah I am. I finished work and I came back."

"Early"

Santana looked up to find Brittany grinning down at her.

"We missed you."

"I miss you mami."

Jesús placed a kiss on her left cheek, and then almost immediately Kyler did the same on her other cheek. Santana's heart squeezed.

"I missed you too amor. So, so much."

Her back was beginning to protest the angle, so Santana lifted both boys off the ground and perched them on each hip. Brittany manoeuvred between them, grabbing Santana's face in both hands and pulling her into a kiss. Santana felt herself sigh happily. She kept her lips connected to Brittany's for as long as she could, until air became an absolute necessity, then she pulled pack and rested their foreheads together.

"Welcome home." Brittany whispered into the tiny space between their lips.

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"Mami, did you see that?" Jesús jumped up so he was standing on the couch with his back against the large pillows. Santana grinned.

"No mijo what happened?"

"He…Jerry ran into the kitchen, and then, and then Tom…he...followed him there, and then, and then…" he broke off giggling hysterically.

"And then what mi amor?" Santana asked, giggling herself.

"BAAAM" Kyler yelled from his place on the floor.

"Bam?" Santana asked, still laughing.

"He hitted him in the face with a…" Jesús' face scrunched up adorably as he thought of the word.

"Pan" Kyler supplied without missing a beat, eyes glued to the tv screen.

"And then his face became rounded like a pan Mami" Jesús finished, dropping into Santana's lap with the force of his laughter. Santana couldn't help but laugh with him.

"Tom is so silly" Santana said, running her hands through Jesús' hair. She loved their hair. It had taken a while to really grow, but once it did, boy did it. It was almost down to their shoulders, and it was a lot. It was light brown with hints of blonde highlights that she thought would only get more pronounced the older they got, and it was very curly, curlier than Santana's, and very soft. Jesús loved his hair as much as Santana loved hers, and he always wore it down. He liked it when people touched it, and when it blew all over his face. Usually that meant having to wash and comb it twice a day. Kyler on the other hand, and Brittany had predicted this when he was still a baby, hated his hair being touched. He hated combing it, he hated washing it, and he hated when it got in his way. So unlike his brother, he usually had it tied up or plaited in cute cornrows. Brittany had asked him if he wanted it shaved, but he had nearly burst into tears at the suggestion. Their children, completely of their own accord because no one they grew up around ever compared them, had become fascinated with the fact that they were twins. They didn't dress alike or do the same things, but they always insisted that their actual appearance remain identical. Cutting his hair would be the opposite of this, and neither Jesús nor Kyler could stand the thought of that. It was never brought up again.

Suddenly Kyler shot up from the floor and ran up the stairs, though he had to use his hands to help him. Santana didn't even react. This happened almost every day. She remained seated and waited for him to inevitably return.

"Mami venga!" he begged, running back and kneeling on the floor next to her head. She smiled and tilted her head back to look at him. "Por favour" he added with a huge grin. He had learned that from Brittany; smiling like that instead of saying sorry. He had also learned to pout, and it was extremely deadly. Worse than Brittany's. He always managed to look like he was actually on the verge of tears. Santana chuckled and stood up, moving Jesús to the couch.

"Stay here Jesús okay?" Jesús nodded, not removing his eyes from the screen.

"Maaami" Kyler whined, now standing in the corridor.

"I'm coming Ky, stop yelling." She walked to the front door, opening it with difficulty because Kyler was standing so close to it. As soon as there was enough space he squeezed through and ran out into the driveway. "Careful" she yelled as he stumbled on the gravel and nearly fell. Puck held up a hand to say he's got him, and met him halfway. Santana cringed as Kyler collided with Puck's legs, attempting to tackle him to the ground. He had recently become obsessed with football, and despite both Brittany and Santana telling him not to, Puck had encouraged his habit of tackling people to 'catch them off guard'. Usually it was Jesús, and usually there were tears. She relaxed her hold on the door as Puck lifted her son into the air upside down and she saw him laughing.

"Uncle Noah no…thas cheating."

"How?" Puck laughed.

"You lifted me up. You can't lifted me up in footbaaaall" he said it like it was so obvious.

"Says who?"

"The rules"

"Did you read the rules?"

Kyler giggled and stopped fighting to get free. Santana breathed a sigh of relief. She had been anxious that he would succeed, Puck would lose his grip and he would fall.

"I can't read" he said very seriously. Santana had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Kyler considered it a great failure that he couldn't read, and all the grown-ups in his life found this highly amusing.

"Oh…I remember" Puck said, as though he had actually forgotten. "Sometimes I forget you're still a baby."

He stopped in front of Santana and gave her a hug, squishing Kyler between them.

"Please put him down, or at least hold him upright" Santana said. Puck just laughed.

"I'm not a baby!" Kyler yelled, pushing against Santana's stomach for some space.

"Sure little man" Puck said, dropping him gently to the floor. He jumped up and ran into the living room, Santana hot on his heels in case he tried to run down the stairs.

"Jesús Uncle Noah called me a baby" they heard him whisper to his brother as he tried to climb down on to the couch. Jesús didn't even look at him.

"I'm a baby" he said casually. Santana cocked her head and smiled. Puck frowned.

"You are?" He asked. Jesús nodded.

"Hi Uncle Noah" he said, still not looking away from the screen.

"Hi J man. You're a baby?"

"Yeah"

Santana's smile grew.

"You're not a baby Jesús. If you're a baby then that mean that I'm a baby, and I'm not a baby" Kyler told him in a very matter-of-fact kind of way.

"I am a baby" Jesús turned to look at Kyler, then turned round further to look at Santana. He smiled sweetly at her, his dimples on full display and lifted his arms. Santana walked to the edge and lifted a now standing Jesús from the couch. "I'm mami's baby" he said, laying his head down on her shoulder and continuing to watch tv. Santana opened her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut. Her free hand wrapped around Jesús as she hugged him closer, wanting to absorb him into her body. Did he really just say that? Completely unprovoked? Why was he such a sweetheart? She was sure she'd explode from the rush of emotions coursing through her right at that moment. She opened her eyes and saw Puck shaking his head with a smile.

"That is exactly right Jesús. You are my baby." She felt Jesús smile and nod.

"Damn Lopierce…just…damn" Puck laughed, kicking off his shoes and jumping on to the couch. Santana lurched forward, thinking he was going to land on Kyler.

"Fuck Puckerman. Why are you trying to kill my boy today?"

"Relax mama….I knew what I was doing" Puck laughed, rubbing Kyler's head. He immediately forced Puck's hand away, though it took both hands and probably all his strength. He turned to look at his uncle with a very serious face.

"No megusta" he said. Santana smirked as Puck turned to her.

"Are you sure you didn't give birth to these boys?"

Santana laughed. "No…as a matter of fact, I'm not."

Puck shook his head.

"You and your babies don't look ready." He playfully tugged on Kyler's pyjama top. "Or is this the new fashion?"

"No, I was waiting for you to get here so I could go take a shower."

"Is Britt already out?"

"Mama went to work." Kyler told Puck. "But she's come back."

"Coming." Santana corrected. "She's coming back later, that's right amor."

"Alright well I got your little men. Go shower. I'm sure it'll be two hours before you're ready."

"If you want to actually be helpful, help them get ready too."

"Sure." Puck nodded.

"Here you go" Santana held Jesús out for Puck to take, dangling him above the couch. Puck had barely reached out for him when Jesús kicked his legs wildly.

"NO! NO! NO!"

Kyler whipped his head around to look at Jesús.

Afraid she'd drop him, Santana brought him back to her body, settling him on her hip.

"What Jesús? What's wrong?"

"I want to go wit you."

"Mami's going to take a shower."

"NO!"

"Jesús" Santana said over his screams. "Stop screaming. No screaming. Listen to mami."

Jesús quieted, though he was gripping her neck tightly, afraid she'd try to pass him off again.

"Mami's going to take a shower." Jesús shook his head but Santana spoke again before he could protest. "So you can come with me, but you will sit and wait for me to finish si?"

"Si" Jesús said happily.

"Okay. Well I guess you'll just get Ky ready."

"Gotcha."

"I'll be right back amor okay?"

Kyler nodded.

She kissed Jesús cheek, brushing some hair out of his face.

"Alright let's go."