Chapter 6

It took way too long to get to the hotel. Long enough for Santana to start convincing herself that Kyler was actually gone, and Jessie was just lying to her. She worked herself up so much that by the time she was being dropped at the hotel, she was sure that both Jesús and Kyler had been taken, and she would walk into an empty hotel room. She couldn't even compose herself enough to wait for the elevator, instead sprinting for the stairs. She knew Brittany had followed her because she could hear the sound of her shoes hitting the tiles as she took the stairs two at a time.

When they reached their floor, she threw the stairwell door open with her free hand, the other was holding the heels she had taken off two floors ago. Fumbling with her purse, it took her shaking hands a full minute to find the key card for their door. Not until Brittany placed her hand over hers and whispered 'calm down' did she take in a deep breath and try again. Taking out the card she swiped it slowly, deciding to see how her kids were before reacting. The last thing she wanted to do was scare them. Looking back at Brittany, who looked to be thinking the same thing, she pushed the door open.

They were met with nothing. No one came running to the door, crying or in any state of hysteria. They could hear the sound of cartoons coming from the large tv in the living room, and Jesús' tiny laugh. They could hear talking in one of the bedrooms, and the sound of the fan in the bathroom. So someone had to be in there.

They both dropped their shoes by the door, and walked further into the room, until they were able to see Jesús. They were shocked to see Kyler as well, curled up into a ball and resting his head in Jesús' lap. Santana heard Brittany let out a sharp sigh, a small sound like a whimper escaping. She didn't look back, knowing her own tears would fall if she saw the look she could imagine on Brittany right now. Instead she took her hand and squeezed it. They both stood there, watching their boys and allowing their hearts to finally relax. They were fine. Both of them were fine. No one had been taken from them.

Finally Brittany squeezed Santana's hand, signalling that she was okay, and they moved forward.

"Hey buds" Brittany said. Her voice was a bit higher than normal, but not in a way that would alert their sons that anything was wrong.

They both whipped their heads around, identical grins on their faces.

"You're back!" Jesús yelled, moving to get up before remembering that Kyler was in his lap. He waited for his brother to stand before he did, then he launched himself at Brittany. Kyler began to cry and he ran to Santana.

"Mami" he yelled, and from the way he said it she knew he was going to speak Spanish. "Someone tried to take me" he cried into her neck. Santana's heart constricted so powerfully at his words that for a second she thought she was having a heart attack. She looked over at Brittany as she tried to think of a reply. Brittany was hugging Jesús as tight as she was hugging Kyler, her face buried in his hair. Santana was spared from replying as Jesús spoke.

"Uncle Jessie fought a man. I saw him. I saw him hit him on the face, and then he tackled him, but not like the way uncle Noah tackles me and Kyler, it was in a bad way mama, and then he was bleeding, and then the police came to took the man who tried to take my brother, and then uncle Jessie carried us all the way back to the hotel, and then Kyler was crying for you and mami, and I told him not to worry cause you would come back super quick, and then uncle Jessie called you, and then gammy was crying and she called poppy, and he told me I was a big brave boy-"

"Me too" Kyler interjected. "And then abuela kept saying sorry and asking me if I was okay, and she hugged me and Jesús a lot, and then she went to the bathroom, and Uncle Jessie said they needed to talk in grown up things and that I should stay here with my brother-"

"Because I will protect him" Jesús resumed telling the story. "And then we continued watching tv and I told Ky to wait and see that you'd be back quick, and then you came!" he finished with a squeal.

"Someone tried to take me mama" Kyler repeated in English, laying on Santana's shoulder and squeezing her neck with his tiny arms. Brittany rubbed his back soothingly.

"I know mi amor. I know. But they didn't and your poppy is right. You're both big brave boys. And me and mama love you both so so much. No one will ever take you okay. That's why uncle Jessie is always there. So that when mama isn't there and I'm not there, you're still very very safe okay?"

Both boys nodded, and Kyler seemed to relax. His crying died down and he lifted his head. "He told me he was my daddy, and that it was time for us to go home. I told him I don't have a daddy, only an uncle Noah, and he's not my daddy. But he kept saying he was my daddy, because he loved you so much mami, and that he wanted to be with me for a little while and then you would come for me later."

He wasn't telling the story like he was scared anymore. It was like he was telling them the plot of one of his favourite shows.

"If he's Kyler's daddy then is he my daddy too?" Jesús asked, playing with Brittany's hair as though what he was asking was completely normal. Brittany shook her head seriously and pulled back to look at him.

"Look at me Jesús" he lifted his head and looked at her, wondering why she was so serious. She flicked her eyes to Kyler, who was also watching her seriously. "I want you both to understand something okay? That man was a bad man. He was lying to you. He's not your daddy. No one is your daddy. You have me and mami. No one else okay?"

They both nodded. "I told him he wasn't my daddy" Kyler said with a proud nod.

"Because you're super smart" Santana said, kissing his head. After that, the boys seemed to want to move on and go back to their show, and neither Brittany nor Santana wanted to scar them for life by making this a bigger thing than they thought it was, so they let them tell them about the cartoon for a few minutes.

"Okay my babies" Santana said after fifteen minutes. "Mama and I are gonna go see what adult things uncle Jessie and gammy are talking about okay?"

They had seen Maribel come out of the bathroom and head into their bedroom a few minutes ago, and Jessie had stuck his head out to check on the twins. When he saw them he nodded reassuringly and went back into the room.

When they were sure Kyler and Jesús would be okay without them they stood up. Taking a deep breath, they walked into their room.

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Brittany had a memory of being lost in a mall. She couldn't remember how old she was, or what mall she was in, all she remembered was how scared she was. She'd gone with her mother to buy a dress for Ashley's baptism, gone to explore all the options in the store and somehow ended up losing her mum. It had taken her a while to feel afraid. At first she'd just wandered around the mall, kind of looking for her but also exploring the other shops in the mall. It was only when a lady had come up to her, a lady she had never met, telling her she knew her mum and would take her to her that Brittany realised she was in trouble. She remembered the talk her parents had given her about stranger danger, and suddenly she was scared. She ran away from the lady, into one of the clothes stores and straight to the changing room, which she locked herself inside of. She'd cried for hours, giving herself a headache and eventually falling asleep. She woke up to a police officer carrying her out of the changing room.

After that, Brittany had been afraid to be alone. For about a month after the incident she hadn't spoken at all. She'd' had nightmares, went back to wetting the bed, and it took months for her to go into the mall or grocery store without either of her parents carrying her.

With time the exact details of the event started to fade, but the terror she had felt, so strong that she'd wanted to throw up, that had stuck with her for years.

Now her son had gone through almost the same thing, again, because of her mother.

The rush of anger that Brittany felt took her so off guard that she momentarily forgot that she had opened her mouth to thank Jessie. Her skin prickled and her fists and jaw clenched, and all she could really feel was a hatred she had never felt. Suddenly she understood how Santana could go on long winded rants in Spanish when she was angry. She felt like if she spoke even one word to her mother, she may never stop. Instead she settled for a look she hoped conveyed her anger effectively.

There was only once in the entire time they knew each other that Santana and Brittany were at the same level of pissed off. When a seven year old Ashley came home from school covered in dirt, a bruise on her cheek and a grazed elbow, crying her little heart out because some boys in the third grade bullied her. Santana's anger was completely expected, but Brittany's took everyone by surprise. The whole situation spiralled so far out of control that by the time Brittany's parents got involved, Brittany and Santana were on the verge of being arrested. After that, Pierce gave them a long speech about self-control and balance. He told them that if they wanted to last as a couple, they needed to be what each other needed, and not just what they wanted. It may be awesome to think of each other as partners in crime, but they were becoming adults, and in an adult relationship, one of them needed to be able to bail the other out of jail. It was a hard lesson for them to learn, especially because at first they thought he was just talking about Brittany needing to control Santana, but when they did, it was a lesson that stuck. Santana matched Brittany's energy, but stopped going along with all her wild ideas and cravings for spontaneity. She learned how to say no, because while it wasn't what Brittany wanted, it was what she needed.

In this moment, Santana knew she would have to temper her own blazing anger to accommodate Brittany's. She saw it in the way Brittany stiffened. The way all her muscles seemed to be trying to hold in the explosion. While there were definitely many words she could come up with in both English and Spanish for how she felt about her mother, she knew now wasn't the time. She would allow Brittany to have this, and be as calm as she needed to be in order for that to happen.

Susan was sitting on the edge of the bed, her entire face red and slightly swollen around her eyes. Her nose was running, and every other second the sound of her sniffing broke the tense silence. She was looking up at Brittany with red pleading eyes, her hands clasped tightly together in her lap. Maribel was standing beside her, leaning against the bed post, eyes averted to the floor. She looked tired and stiff, but not in the way Brittany was. Santana knew that stance from all of the arguments she had had with her mother. It was a defensive position. Like she was physically preparing herself for a fight. The sight of it was making it harder for Santana to be calm. Her body was so used to reacting when she saw her mother like that, that it was fighting Santana's orders to remain still. On top of that, she found it infuriating that her mother wasn't at least looking apologetic. She wasn't even trying to appeal to Santana or Brittany at all, like Susan was. She was ready to jump straight into the fight. Santana clenched her jaw until her teeth protested. She would not give in. she would not allow her mother to bait her into throwing away one of the fundamental elements of her marriage.

Brittany closed her eyes, feeling herself shake with the effort to restrain herself from slapping her crying mother. What right did she have to be crying? It was her fault that her son was nearly kidnapped today. Her fault that for the rest of his life, this would be a part of his story. She didn't deserve to be crying. Every time she thought she had gotten her emotions under control enough to speak, her mother sniffed, and as if it sparked a new wave of anger, she would have to close her eyes and breathe again. Finally she couldn't take it anymore.

"Go get a fucking tissue and stop being disgusting" she growled, a horrible sneer on her face that would have shocked Santana if she hadn't been expecting it. Truth be told, the sniffing was getting on her nerves as well. The fact that she had been prepared for the look on Brittany's face didn't mean that she didn't hate it. It made her heart ache to see her constantly happy wife's face filled with so much hatred.

"Susan please take a minute to compose yourself in the bathroom. We'll wait."

Susan was gaping at Brittany, crying with renewed vigour, her whole body trembling. She tried to stand, but stalled halfway through, chocked out a sob, and then collapsed back down. Santana turned to Jessie, who was looking both uncomfortable, and overcome with pity. "Jessie would you please?"

She waved her hand at Susan. Jessie nodded quickly, jumping forward and wrapping a hand around Susan's waist, the other one hanging in the air in front of her for her to take. As they walked, Maribel pulled her arms tight around herself and watched their slow progress as one watched a funeral procession. Santana turned to Brittany who was staring at the spot where her mother had been sitting.

"Honey" she said quietly. Brittany turned to her after almost a minute, like she had forgotten Santana had called her. Santana put her hand on Brittany's upper arm. "Let me handle this okay?" Brittany looked down at Santana's hand and blinked.

"I'm so mad Santana"

Her voice was hoarse like she'd been screaming for hours. It startled Santana slightly. She nodded, rubbing very slowly up and down on her arm. Brittany lifted her head and fixed her eyes to Santana's. They were slightly red.

"I'm so mad I could kill her"

Santana's heart squeezed. She did not like this at all. The sooner their mothers left the better. She nodded, and continued rubbing her hand.

"Brittany-"

"Don't talk to her" Santana cut her mother off. She didn't yell, or even really say it all that aggressively. It was a warning. As her mother's eyes cut to her, she shook her head slowly, holding eye contact for three seconds, before feeling her own anger bubble and looking away. "Let's just wait for Susan."

She didn't even know what she was going to do once Susan came back. She wanted to know what they were doing instead of watching her sons. She wanted to know what on earth possessed the both of them to allow two three year olds to roam a park far enough away from them that they couldn't get to them when things started getting hectic. In a foreign country that none of them had been to no less. Most of all, she wanted to know why after everything that happened, people in other countries called, Jessie called, but neither of them did.

It was a tense fifteen minutes, but finally Jessie and Susan walked back into the room. Susan took her seat silently, avoiding both Brittany and Santana's eyes. When she was settled, Santana took a deep breath. This was not going to be a fun or easy conversation at all, especially since Brittany was currently unpredictable.

"Jessie" she looked at him, her voice cracking slightly. She was a lesbian but she could marry this man the way she was currently feeling about him. He was the only reason she had her sons safely in the other room. He shook his head to stop the gratitude he knew was coming, but Santana ignored him. Brittany was looking at him as well. "I don't think Brittany and I could ever express to you how thankful we are. You saved them, and we'll always be grateful to you for that. We owe you everything-"

"No…" he raised his hands, shaking them along with his head. "I was just doing my job Santana-"

"I don't care" Brittany said. Her voice still hoarse, but now thick with tears she was refusing to shed. "You've been protecting us since before it was your job Jess. You weren't just doing your job."

He smiled gently at her, and the dreary atmosphere was momentarily lifted. "Well…you know…we became friends in a hotel parking lot so…you guys are special to me"

Santana choked out a laugh, remembering the first time Jessie had saved her. "Family" she told him, walking over and giving him a tight hug, allowing a few tears to fall. He hugged her back, then pulled Brittany in. Brittany still didn't cry. Wiping her tears and clearing her throat, Santana faced their mothers.

"Tell me what happened"

Susan immediately launched into apologies, most of which they couldn't really understand because she was trying so hard not to cry.

"You didn't know?" Brittany cut in harshly. She took a step forward. "What do you mean you didn't fucking know?" she looked back at Santana incredulously then back to Susan. "We told you to hold their hands if you were planning on going anywhere public. WE TOLD YOU" she yelled, pointing a finger aggressively in Susan's face. Santana took her hanging hand, which was balled into a fist, and pulled her back a few feet. Brittany didn't even seem to notice. She looked back at the door, and Santana knew she was hoping Jesús and Kyler hadn't heard her yell. "Why did you think we were telling you to do that? Because we thought it would be cute?"

"No of course not" Maribel spoke up, "But the spot we were in was relatively empty, and they wanted to run around. Jessie was there."

"Yeah and thank god" Santana said calmly. "But Jessie is their body guard, not their baby sitter. What is the point of us having Quinn and Puck, and then you and Susan there to watch them, if you were just going to leave them with Jessie mami?" Maribel seemed to be considering this for the first time. "He's not there to play with them, he's there to make sure they're safe while they play. He's there to asses situations, and make sure there are safe exit routes and no creepy stalkers or paparazzi following them around. He doesn't just watch them he watches everything. You are supposed to watch them, and you're supposed to hold their goddamn hands. He would have gotten you out of that crowd before it even formed, instead of having to round up two toddlers who think he's playing a game."

"Do you even realise what could have gone wrong?" Brittany breathed angrily. "Even without this kidnapper, do you know what could have happened in an uncontrolled crowd like that?"

"Best case scenario, they get scared and start crying." Santana started. "Worst case scenario, people start picking them up, taking pictures, it gets loud and hurts their ears, the crowd gets out of control, and someone bumps into someone else and then there's fighting. They could have gotten seriously hurt."

Maribel looked at Jessie, deciding not to tell them that he had already given them a thorough lecture on how things could have turned out differently. She nodded and averted her eyes to the ground.

"And I'm so, so sorry for that. We didn't want any of that to happen." Brittany stared hard at her.

"We..." Susan took in a haggard breath. "We are sor…" she sniffed, then glanced fearfully at Brittany. "Sorry. We're so, t-terribly sorry. We had stopped to take a picture, and didn't see how far they had gone, and then out of nowhere…th-they all came out of nowhere B-Brittany."

"I don't care if you're sorry." Brittany said coldly, turning her entire body away from both mothers. Susan descended into fresh tears.

"Tell us what happened" Santana repeated, looking into Brittany's face and trying to read her.

As their mothers spoke about how they had been fine, Santana closed her eyes, trying to visualize the scene. Kyler kept trying to drag them forward faster, and Jesús was pulling them in all directions as he jumped and tried to swing on their arms. Finally they decided to let them run for five minutes. 'A real five minutes' Susan emphasized. Then they were so cute, chasing each other around as fast as they could go, so they decided to take a picture to send to Santana and Brittany. In the time it took to take out their phones from their bags, a few people had already stopped to talk to the boys. They tried to walk faster and get to them, but there were yells that Santana Lopez was in the park, and the crowd just grew suddenly, until they couldn't even see the kids.

"Whose decision was it to take a picture?" Brittany asked.

"Britt" Santana said. "That's not-"

"No…I want to know"

"Why? So that you can blame it all on them?" Maribel asked not unkindly. She looked at Susan, who was shaking her head. "It was both of our decisions."

Brittany whirled around. "No it wasn't. Someone had to suggest it, and I want to know who."

"Brittany" Santana tried again.

"No Santana, I need to know which of our mothers is responsible for my son…for…" she trailed off, her voice shaking with anger. "Which of you is RESPONSIBLE" she yelled the last word, and it came out like it was physically torn from her throat. Santana winced, trying not to imagine the damage Brittany's vocal chords were experiencing.

"We both are" Susan said. It was meek, but they all heard it. Brittany turned back around to face Santana. She was shaking violently, tears in her eyes, but refusing to fall, face red with the effort to keep them there, and the frustration of not getting the answer she wanted.

"I'll never forgive you for this." she finally said. She turned to face them again, her body no longer shaking, her hands unclenched, face blank of all emotion. "Either of you" she looked at her mother. "I will never" she paused for emphasis, "forgive you." Ignoring Susan's loud heart-breaking sob and Maribel's look of anguish, she walked out.

The room was silent for a long time. Santana struggled with herself. She was angry, no doubt about it, but she did not blame their mothers the way Brittany seemed to. She knew if she blamed them for this happening, she may as well blame herself. It was because of her that Kyler was in the park to begin with. She had to work. She had to tour. It was because of her fame that the man tried to take him. But it wasn't her fault. So she couldn't find it in herself to blame her mother or Susan too harshly. On the other hand, this would not have happened if the kids had been with her and Brittany, or Puck and Quinn, or even, she realised, if they had been alone with Jessie. That fact made it impossible to forgive them. Still though, she knew that she and Brittany were not on the same level of anger as she had previously thought. Brittany was way, way, way ahead, and there was only one thing left for Santana to do.

"You should leave" she said, looking them both in the eye.

"W..we…we'll come by tomorrow when she's calmed down." Susan tried, her eyes once again begging. It hurt Santana's heart, but Brittany was her number one. Always.

"No"

"Okay…you'll just…" she stood up and timidly. "You'll call us down when she's ready to talk?" Maribel was eyeing her daughter, reading her tone, posture, and eyes. The intent of her words was not as lost on her as it was on Susan.

"No" Santana said again. "You should go back home"

Susan gasped like she was in pain, and began to cry all over again. Santana wondered how she had not run out of tears to cry. Jessie looked very uncomfortable.

"No Santana please…please…I…I'm sorry. This was a horrible, horrible thing to happen, but it was an.…it wasn't our…we…" she stammered, trying to find words. "We can't leave like this. She won't move past it if we go back to Lima."

"We won't move past it if you stay either. You saw how she is…and frankly I'm not in the right place to try and change her mind. She's allowed to feel however she wants to about this. We both are."

"I know that" Susan said quietly. "But I-I'm her mother"

"And we almost lost one, if not both of our sons today, after we trusted you with them. Think about that, and then tell me I should forgive you. That Brittany should forgive you."

"Santana-"

"People in the states, some people who I barely even talk to, were calling me to check on the boys. Where's your call mami?" she thrust her phone into her mother's chest, not even waiting for her to take it before removing her hand. It fell to the carpeted floor.

"Santana" Maribel repeated.

"No…where is it? Did I miss it somehow? Check." She pointed at the phone on the floor. "I haven't returned any calls so go ahead. All the missed calls and messaged are on there." Maribel shook her head. "What? Why are you shaking your head? Unlock the fucking phone and check to see when you called me to tell me I almost lost my son."

"No está ahí" Maribel said, trying to contain the flood of emotions she was feeling. Guilt chief among them. Santana nodded.

"Get out, and go home. Neither of us need or want you here. I'll tell Eve to get you flights for tonight." She bent and picked up her fallen phone. "Until then, you can wait at the airport."

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Santana found Brittany on the balcony, staring out at the view. Tears were trickling down her pink cheeks from her slightly swollen eyes, and Santana could see that her hands were shaking as she pressed her hands together.

"Baby."

Brittany swallowed, blinked, but didn't turn to Santana.

"Can I give you a hug?"

Taking in a shuddering breath and blowing it out, Brittany nodded.

Santana positioned herself behind her, wrapping her arms around Brittany's waist and pulling her close. She kissed Brittany's cheek as Brittany rested her arms over hers.

"They're okay" Santana said after a moment of silence.

"Thank god." Brittany's voice was still hoarse. It broke Santana's heart. "But she…This isn't the first time she's done this."

Santana frowned. She was about to ask, but Brittany cut her off.

"My mum likes to be the fun times…happy go lucky type of mum. She always has."

Santana nodded. "Yeah…"

"But sometimes kids need more than that. They're three! They don't know how to look for cars when they cross the street or keep a safe distance from strangers. That's why they need adults."

"I know B. I don't think she-"

"She didn't pay attention. She wasn't…We told her to pay attention she didn't."

"They-"

"Now our son knows what it's like to almost be kidnapped. Now he has a fear he never should have had. We don't know what this will do to him. What kind of trauma he'll have."

Santana turned Brittany around, cupping her cheeks and forcing her to look into her eyes.

"We'll get him to talk to someone. A child psychologist or something, who can tell us if he's okay, and help him if he's not. He's okay baby."

Brittany was shaking her head, tears falling faster from her eyes, which were bloodshot. Her breathing picked up, making her chest heave.

"He's…He was almost gone. We almost lost him."

"But we didn't. He's fine. He's here."

"No he-" Brittany stepped back from Santana, now hyperventilating. "He…We have to…we have to keep him safe."

"Brittany."

"We have to…We can't leave him with her ever again."

"BRITTANY!"

Santana grabbed Brittany into a tighter hug than before, refusing to let her go as Brittany fought to get free.

"Breathe" Santana instructed, rubbing her back. "Breathe. Kyler is here. He's in there with Jesús watching cartoons. B he's fine."

Brittany broke down, sobbing into Santana's shoulder and grasping onto her shirt for dear life.

"It's okay my love." Santana cooed. "We're all okay."

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It took an hour for both Brittany and Santana to return all their missed calls, assuring everyone that both their sons were fine and not kidnapped. Quinn and Puck were the hardest to assure. Neither of them had stopped calling since they saw the breaking news on E! Live.

"I swear I nearly booked a plane to Australia Santana" Quinn said, traces of tears still on her cheeks. "I saw the video and it was like my heart stopped. I wanted to vomit that's-"

"Wait, video?" Brittany interrupted. "What video?" she looked at Santana with heavily furrowed eyebrows.

"There's a fan who was taking a video of the boys, and basically got the whole thing. You see the asshole walking up to Ky and bending down to talk to him, pulling his hand, picking him up, everything. There's even a few people trying to yell. Things like, 'hey who's that guy? What's he doing?' etc"

Santana was frowning now too. She hadn't known there was a video. More things to be upset about. She and Brittany were very strict about the interaction their fans had with their sons. They never let them touch them, unless it was an approved high five. They definitely never let them hold them. There were very few videos of their kids on the internet that Santana or Brittany didn't post themselves, and most of those were posted by Quinn or Puck. Other than videos paparazzi took, which you could barely see the boys in anyway because of blankets they were wrapped in, they had been able to keep their sons from being caught up in TMZ worthy news. That was out of the window now. Sighing, she turned to Brittany.

"Get the laptop B"

"No Lopez" Puck said quickly. "You shouldn't watch it."

"I agree" Quinn said, nodding to emphasize. "What good is it gonna do?"

Santana had not turned away from Brittany, who was looking dejectedly at the phone, though Santana knew she wasn't really seeing Quinn and Puck. She was deep in her thoughts as she had been since Santana had found her after their mothers' departure. After a minute, Brittany stood up and walked into the bedroom to get the laptop.

Quinn sighed heavily. "You shouldn't watch it Santana."

"I don't give a fuck Quinn" Santana spat. She was tired, and still annoyed at the entire situation. She wanted to go out and find that man. She'd love to just catch him alone in the streets.

Quinn sighed again as Brittany retook her seat and opened the laptop. Everyone sat in silence as Brittany brought up the video. It wasn't hard to find. It was one of her Google suggestions when she opened up chrome. That fact alone made Santana want to throw the laptop off the balcony.

As soon as they saw the size of the crowd that had gathered, Brittany began to cry. Kyler was standing alone, a good six feet away from Jessie, though he was making his way to him quickly. There was so much noise, some screaming in the background from some people who thought Santana and Brittany were actually there. They could see some people in the front trying to push everyone back as the crowd began to tighten, but really, all they saw, was that neither of their mothers were in the video. No matter how shaky it got, how the person turned and showed other angles, Maribel and Susan were not there. Brittany was crying steadily harder as they watched the man try and pull Kyler deeper into the crowd and smiled a small proud smile as they watched him tug his hand back. Brittany's hand shook as she saw Kyler look back over his shoulder, for Jessie or his brother or his grandmothers. For anyone. Santana had to put her hand over Brittany's to keep it steady enough to continue watching. They watched in complete silence, Santana seething and Brittany crying, as the man picked up their toddler. It wasn't even 5 seconds after Kyler had been lifted that Jessie took him out of the man's arms. It was quick and very obviously done with a lot of strength, but they could tell he was gentle. Kyler was already crying as he was placed on the ground next to his brother. Jesús looked more confused than scared, but he could tell there was something wrong. He took his crying brother's hand, and again Santana and Brittany couldn't help but smile. Finally Maribel came into view, Susan following closely, and they picked up both boys. They watched as Jessie proceeded to tackle the man who was trying to escape to the ground, and punch him repeatedly. Santana could see paparazzi surrounding the crowd, and then they heard sirens. Someone had evidently called the cops. There was screaming as people watched Jessie sit on top of the struggling man, pushing his face into the ground hard until he stopped fighting. He stood and talked to someone beside him, who nodded, and then he took Susan's hand and pulled her through the crowd, shielding her and Maribel as he forced his way passed the person recording. The video went on for another 10 minutes, but neither Brittany nor Santana had any interest in finishing, now that their kids weren't involved.

There was silence for a long time. Brittany wasn't crying anymore, but she was still shaking, and Santana was trying to slow down her heart. She had adrenaline coursing through her from the instinct to protect her children from what she had just seen, even though it was already over. Quinn and Puck had no idea what to say. They could see the pain their best friends were in, but they couldn't imagine it. Their own fear and anger was consuming their rational thoughts. Neither was able to go to work when they had found out. Instead, Puck had gone to Quinn's house, and they had been waiting together for the call they knew would come, though that didn't stop them from calling every 10 minutes.

"You guys should come back" Puck finally said. There was barely a reaction from the two women. Santana blinked, and Brittany took in a deep breath.

"I don't think they can" Quinn said. "Santana's on contract right? She still has one more show."

"I-" Santana had to break off and clear her throat as her voice came out scratching it. "I can leave. I'm pretty sure there's something about emergencies." Brittany turned to face her.

"Are you sure you want to leave?" her voice was quiet and sad, and it cemented Santana's decision.

"I'm sure" she said with a serious nod. "We need to go home." They both turned to look at the two boys asleep on the floor in front of them, and Brittany nodded.

"Okay" Brittany said. "I guess we'll be seeing you guys tomorrow." She said to Puck and Quinn. "We better go pack."