Standing on a Precipice - Chapter Twenty-Two
Title: Standing on a Precipice
Author: Sio & Maura!
Rating: Up to NC-17 for later chapters
Length: 96,075 / 141,873
Spoilers: Possible mentions of up to Season 2 finale
Pairing: Rachel/Santana, Rachel/Jesse, Santana/OC
Summary: From a prompt given via Sio's tumblr ask box. Rachel and Jesse are married with children, but Jesse is slowly dying from cancer. Enter Santana, lonely and divorced but highly successful and willing to befriend the beleaguered mother. When Jesse passes and Rachel starts depending more and more on Santana's friendship, will they stay just friends or can it blossom into something more? Future!Fic.
Warnings (highlight to read): Pregnancy, character death, angst, children, non-con and drugging and talks there of in later chapters
Author's Note: I am so sorry, everyone! I completely forgot to update on Friday. So sorry. :(
Chapter Twenty-Two - Family Day
Santana laid back, stretching out on the plaid blanket. She wore small denim shorts that hugged the top of her thighs and a thick strapped tank top with a haltered green haltered bikini underneath. She had on her aviator sunglasses and her hair was in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder and chest. She had her eyes closed, but one ear listening to the loud giggling and chatter of the children frolicking in the grass. She smiled to herself when she heard Rachel call for them to stop running so fast.
"Let them play." Santana said as she soaked up the sun rays. It was the first Sunday in awhile she’d been able to participate in family activities because of her work load.
Rachel frowned over at Santana, "You can let them play when you're the one sitting in a waiting room waiting desperately to hear how badly their little bones have broken when they trip and fall, Santana."
She came over and sat down on the plaid blanket with her friend though, adjusting the lay of her gray skirt as she did. It wasn't that she didn't want the children to have fun, but she worried about them. It was her prerogative as their mother after all, she thought. Even as she settled down beside her friend, her eyes moved between the two older children playing in the grass with a large ball and Alex toddling about on the other side of Santana, his arms out to balance and a happy smile on his face.
"I still can't believe you talked me into letting you put that shirt on him," she added, nodding at the It's hard out here for a pimp shirt on the baby.
Santana laughed her eyes still closed as she remembered finding that shirt on a trip to LA recently. "All the ladies love Alex," she stated with a head nod, "he be straight pimpin' yo." she smirked.
His mother shook her head with a wry grin, "Santana Lopez, you are going to give him an ego before he's even old enough to begin attending kindergarten."
A couple of young men walking along the nearby path paused and smiled at the pair. "The two of you have quite the lovely family," the younger looking of the pair called, "don't you think so, Ryan?"
The taller of the two chuckled and squeezed the arm he had around the younger man's waist. "They do indeed, Chuck, but let's leave the girls alone with their kids now, okay?"
As they were talking, Alex stumbled over and flopped across Santana's stomach with a laughing, "Ma!"
Santana pushed herself up and looked between the kids, the men and Rachel. She didn’t know what to say. She just stayed quiet and watched the expressions on Rachel’s face. She got pushed back down when Alex flopped down onto her.
"Ooof!" She exclaimed, and rested her hand onto his back. "Watch yourself, killer." She smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. When he looked at her and exclaimed, Ma she froze.
"She’s over there buddy." She pointed at Rachel and his gaze didn’t change.
The little boy just laughed and reached for Santana, "Ma!" He squealed, inching closer, "Ma!"
Rachel glanced over from where she was watching the other two kids, but declined to comment, waiting to see how Santana would handle it. She'd noticed the awkward name the little boy attached to Santana a couple weeks earlier shortly after he started talking. "Cale! Don't eat things off the ground!"
Santana held him, watching his face as he continued to call her Ma. She didn’t know what to do. She hadn’t really heard him speak before, just little babblings of baby language. "Alejandro." She said softly, her fingers running through his dark black baby hair. "What are you doing?" She whispered, pressing her head against his in confusion.
"Aww, Ryan, they're so adorable!" Chuck squealed, clutching at his companion's shoulder.
Ryan smiled awkwardly and tried pulling the younger man away, "That they are. Come on now, let's leave them be..."
Alex gurgled happily and patted Santana's cheeks with his little hands, "Ma." After a bit of Santana not smiling like he wanted he wiggled and frowned before reaching over to Rachel, "Mama?"
Santana finally realized what was happening she was suddenly beyond happy she had sunglasses on because her eyes had begun to water. "Rachel?" Santana asked, not sure what she should do. "He... I..." she stumbled and tripped over her words.
Rachel looked over when Santana called and smiled, "Yes?"
Alex cooed and gurgled before calling, "Mama!" and reaching out for Rachel again.
Rachel laughed and reached over to take his hand which pleased him. "The talking? He started a couple of weeks ago. I'm rather surprised you haven't heard him yet."
"I only see him when he’s sleepy lately." She said kinda dazed, her eyes still locked on the baby. She laid back down and let him flop on her torso and he drooled and left kisses on Santana’s neck. "Oh God, baby drool..." she whined as she reached for Rachel’s skirt edges to wipe it off. "Get it offff."
Rachel chuckled softly and rolled her eyes, batting Santana's hand away from her skirt as she reached over to pull a cloth from the picnic basket sitting nearby. "Here, though I am surprised you're so picky about it now. You certainly didn't seem to mind when he was smaller." She didn't mention the long hours Santana had been putting in at the office - away from the family.
"Santa!" Cale suddenly yelled, pelting over to throw his arms around the woman and hug her tight, "Can eat now?"
Kayla bumbled over to her mom with the ball they'd been playing with, "Can we eat, Mama? I'm hungry..."
"He was cuter then." She winked, sitting up and putting the baby in her lap and kissed Cale’s cheek. "You smell like grass, Caleb." She smiled, "Smells good." she ruffled his long hair and looked over to Rachel. "Yeah Mama. Feed us." she smiled and reached for the basket of food. "Childrens, I ask you to all pout at your mother until she opens the basket and gives us that tasty tasty food she made." She jutted out her bottom, followed by Cale who used his best puppy dog eyes and Kayla giggled and rolled her eyes before following their lead.
"Please, Mama!" Kayla exclaimed as she put the ball with the other toys as she came back and looked longingly at the basket.
Rachel laughed and tossed the cloth at Santana, "Alright. Alright! I give up! Lunch time, everyone." She pulled the basket over and opened it up, passing out plates and glasses before pulling out a pitcher of homemade lemonade and the covered bowl of pasta salad and box of cucumber and hummus sandwiches.
Santana fixed the lemonade into cups, twisting on the lids and handing them to the youngest members of the family. Kayla smiled at the new water bottle Santana had bought her with her name on it as she took it and took a healthy drink of the juice.
Santana unpacked the baby bag, grabbing the training cup with breast milk in it for him. She popped it into his mouth and helped Rachel get food onto plates for the older kids. "Looks so good, Rachel." She smiled and fixed the busy mother a plate as Rachel served up food for her children.
Cale grinned, grabbing a piece of rotini from his plate and putting it in his mouth with a mischievous grin, "Good, Mama!"
"Cale, use your fork not your fingers," her tone was chiding but she said it with an indulgent smile. The whole family was together and she felt more content than she had in weeks. "Thank you, Santana, I do try to provide my best for my family. So when we're all together, I try to knock out all the stops."
Santana took a bite of her sandwich and smiled before pulling a small piece of just hummus and bread and popped it in Alex’s open and waiting mouth. He clapped and chewed the food before opening up again. Santana continued this process a few times with pasta and bread before Alex moved back to his milk. "He likes it." She smiled and went back to eating her food. Kayla leaned against her mom and munched while Cale laid on his stomach in between them both, kicking his feet up into the air.
Santana looked over and saw the two men who had commented on them earlier smiling. "We have fans." Santana pointed out, her head nodding over in the direction of the men. "I think they might have the wrong idea." She said softly.
She glanced over at the two men and waved, prompting Ryan to haul the fawning Chuck away. "I can't say I'm overly concerned with the opinions of others, Santana. Besides, it seems the only possible misconception is that we are a family, and, Santana," Rachel glanced up at Santana with a soft smile, "I was under the impression that we are a family."
"We are." She smiled, her eyes staying on Rachel’s for a few seconds longer than she knew she should. Cale looked up with a toothy grin, "I mean we have an awesome family." She moved Alex as he finished his milk and relaxed into her arms. She settled him in between her outstretched legs. Alex rested his head on Santana’s leg and looked around.
"Ma?" He said, looking up then over at Rachel.
Cale kicked his feet, munching on one of his sandwich wedges and grinning messily up at Santana, "Wants Santa."
She shook her head, "He wants your mom, Cale." She ran her fingers through thick baby hair as the rest of the family finished eating.
"Nuh-uh," he shook his head, grinning around his sandwich, "Mama's Mama." He took a bite, chewing and swallowing before continuing, "Ma's Santa."
"Oh." She stated, looking down at Alex. "Alejandro?" She asked, causing him to look up and cock his head to the side. "I’m Ma?" her voice wavered as she spoke. She was scared to hear the answer no matter what it was. She had so many issues swimming around her head when she heard Cale confirm her confusion.
Alex beamed and nodded, looking up and reaching his arms up and playing with her long braid that hung over her shoulder. "Ma. Ma. Ma. Ma." He looked over at Rachel. "Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama!" he babbled causing Santana to smile no matter how scared she was about the implications of the term.
"That's right, baby boy," Rachel murmured, leaning over to kiss his messy head. She'd had her own revelation about what was meant when Alex called for his Ma last week while Santana was at work, Kayla explaining as she played with her dolls in Rachel's room. She'd given it a lot of thought and decided that if Jesse couldn't be the one he turned to for another parent, Santana was the one she wanted him to look to.
"Okay..." Santana said as she watched Rachel’s face. She leaned over without thinking and pushed a lock of Rachel’s hair back that had fallen out of her hair clip and pushed it back behind her ear. "I think I can handle that." She pulled her hand away and let it fall down the strand and backed away.
Rachel offered a shy smile at the easy casual intimacy from the other woman. She'd missed her touch more than she'd realized since their drunken night months ago, so that simple touch meant more to her than she was sure she wanted to let on. "You must admit that it makes sense, Santana. You are in the position of a second parent for him, so it is only natural for him to look to you in such a manner."
"Mmhmm." She stated looking down and seeing him falling asleep and the fact that Cale had curled up on the blanket with Kayla who was reading a picture book to him. Santana scooted closer to Rachel and sat so they could watch the back of the kids heads as they read. They haven’t been this close together since they had kissed, and Santana just bit her lip and looked at Rachel. "I missed you." She whispered, looking into her eyes trying to convey her feelings in a simple phrase.
Rachel looked at her with shy glances and a tiny smile, reaching up to brush her hair back from her face and tuck it behind her ear. "I've missed you too, Santana," she whispered, leaning slightly closer almost unconsciously.
Santana’s eyes shifted over to check that the kids weren’t looking and she moved closer and her bottom lip brushed against Rachel’s. "Tell me to stop." she whispered as she pressed her lips against Rachel’s top lip. "Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you." She said so only Rachel could hear.
Santana was teasing, she knew they had to figure everything out still, but the day in the park - together, as a family - was giving her more bravery where the other woman was concerned than she ever had before. "Tell me."
Rachel's eyes drifted almost closed at the gentle kiss. "I don't want to..." the words slipped softly from her lips, little more than a breath.
With that, Santana kissed her. She carefully brushed their lips together kissing her soft and teasingly. She couldn’t stop, her tongue flicked between the other woman’s lips causing her to smile. She knew they couldn’t get away with the moment for long, with three children around them but it was sweet and tender. After a few light presses of lips together, she pulled away and smiled as she moved back to sit up straight.
Rachel stayed leaning toward Santana with her eyes closed for a moment after the other woman pulled away. When she managed to regather her scattered thoughts, she reached out and took Santana's hand, looking down at their joined hands for a moment before glancing shyly up at the other woman. "I think perhaps we should talk, Santana. About this," she squeezed her hand, "about us."
"I think we should." Santana replied, her thumb running over the other woman’s hand as she watched the children. "I think we should." She smiled and kissed the side of Rachel’s head and pushed her sunglasses down and laid back, keeping their hands connected on her stomach, right behind Alex’s head.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Author: Sio & Maura!
Rating: Up to NC-17 for later chapters
Length: 96,075 / 141,873
Spoilers: Possible mentions of up to Season 2 finale
Pairing: Rachel/Santana, Rachel/Jesse, Santana/OC
Summary: From a prompt given via Sio's tumblr ask box. Rachel and Jesse are married with children, but Jesse is slowly dying from cancer. Enter Santana, lonely and divorced but highly successful and willing to befriend the beleaguered mother. When Jesse passes and Rachel starts depending more and more on Santana's friendship, will they stay just friends or can it blossom into something more? Future!Fic.
Warnings (highlight to read): Pregnancy, character death, angst, children, non-con and drugging and talks there of in later chapters
Author's Note: I am so sorry, everyone! I completely forgot to update on Friday. So sorry. :(
Chapter Twenty-Two - Family Day
Santana laid back, stretching out on the plaid blanket. She wore small denim shorts that hugged the top of her thighs and a thick strapped tank top with a haltered green haltered bikini underneath. She had on her aviator sunglasses and her hair was in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder and chest. She had her eyes closed, but one ear listening to the loud giggling and chatter of the children frolicking in the grass. She smiled to herself when she heard Rachel call for them to stop running so fast.
"Let them play." Santana said as she soaked up the sun rays. It was the first Sunday in awhile she’d been able to participate in family activities because of her work load.
Rachel frowned over at Santana, "You can let them play when you're the one sitting in a waiting room waiting desperately to hear how badly their little bones have broken when they trip and fall, Santana."
She came over and sat down on the plaid blanket with her friend though, adjusting the lay of her gray skirt as she did. It wasn't that she didn't want the children to have fun, but she worried about them. It was her prerogative as their mother after all, she thought. Even as she settled down beside her friend, her eyes moved between the two older children playing in the grass with a large ball and Alex toddling about on the other side of Santana, his arms out to balance and a happy smile on his face.
"I still can't believe you talked me into letting you put that shirt on him," she added, nodding at the It's hard out here for a pimp shirt on the baby.
Santana laughed her eyes still closed as she remembered finding that shirt on a trip to LA recently. "All the ladies love Alex," she stated with a head nod, "he be straight pimpin' yo." she smirked.
His mother shook her head with a wry grin, "Santana Lopez, you are going to give him an ego before he's even old enough to begin attending kindergarten."
A couple of young men walking along the nearby path paused and smiled at the pair. "The two of you have quite the lovely family," the younger looking of the pair called, "don't you think so, Ryan?"
The taller of the two chuckled and squeezed the arm he had around the younger man's waist. "They do indeed, Chuck, but let's leave the girls alone with their kids now, okay?"
As they were talking, Alex stumbled over and flopped across Santana's stomach with a laughing, "Ma!"
Santana pushed herself up and looked between the kids, the men and Rachel. She didn’t know what to say. She just stayed quiet and watched the expressions on Rachel’s face. She got pushed back down when Alex flopped down onto her.
"Ooof!" She exclaimed, and rested her hand onto his back. "Watch yourself, killer." She smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. When he looked at her and exclaimed, Ma she froze.
"She’s over there buddy." She pointed at Rachel and his gaze didn’t change.
The little boy just laughed and reached for Santana, "Ma!" He squealed, inching closer, "Ma!"
Rachel glanced over from where she was watching the other two kids, but declined to comment, waiting to see how Santana would handle it. She'd noticed the awkward name the little boy attached to Santana a couple weeks earlier shortly after he started talking. "Cale! Don't eat things off the ground!"
Santana held him, watching his face as he continued to call her Ma. She didn’t know what to do. She hadn’t really heard him speak before, just little babblings of baby language. "Alejandro." She said softly, her fingers running through his dark black baby hair. "What are you doing?" She whispered, pressing her head against his in confusion.
"Aww, Ryan, they're so adorable!" Chuck squealed, clutching at his companion's shoulder.
Ryan smiled awkwardly and tried pulling the younger man away, "That they are. Come on now, let's leave them be..."
Alex gurgled happily and patted Santana's cheeks with his little hands, "Ma." After a bit of Santana not smiling like he wanted he wiggled and frowned before reaching over to Rachel, "Mama?"
Santana finally realized what was happening she was suddenly beyond happy she had sunglasses on because her eyes had begun to water. "Rachel?" Santana asked, not sure what she should do. "He... I..." she stumbled and tripped over her words.
Rachel looked over when Santana called and smiled, "Yes?"
Alex cooed and gurgled before calling, "Mama!" and reaching out for Rachel again.
Rachel laughed and reached over to take his hand which pleased him. "The talking? He started a couple of weeks ago. I'm rather surprised you haven't heard him yet."
"I only see him when he’s sleepy lately." She said kinda dazed, her eyes still locked on the baby. She laid back down and let him flop on her torso and he drooled and left kisses on Santana’s neck. "Oh God, baby drool..." she whined as she reached for Rachel’s skirt edges to wipe it off. "Get it offff."
Rachel chuckled softly and rolled her eyes, batting Santana's hand away from her skirt as she reached over to pull a cloth from the picnic basket sitting nearby. "Here, though I am surprised you're so picky about it now. You certainly didn't seem to mind when he was smaller." She didn't mention the long hours Santana had been putting in at the office - away from the family.
"Santa!" Cale suddenly yelled, pelting over to throw his arms around the woman and hug her tight, "Can eat now?"
Kayla bumbled over to her mom with the ball they'd been playing with, "Can we eat, Mama? I'm hungry..."
"He was cuter then." She winked, sitting up and putting the baby in her lap and kissed Cale’s cheek. "You smell like grass, Caleb." She smiled, "Smells good." she ruffled his long hair and looked over to Rachel. "Yeah Mama. Feed us." she smiled and reached for the basket of food. "Childrens, I ask you to all pout at your mother until she opens the basket and gives us that tasty tasty food she made." She jutted out her bottom, followed by Cale who used his best puppy dog eyes and Kayla giggled and rolled her eyes before following their lead.
"Please, Mama!" Kayla exclaimed as she put the ball with the other toys as she came back and looked longingly at the basket.
Rachel laughed and tossed the cloth at Santana, "Alright. Alright! I give up! Lunch time, everyone." She pulled the basket over and opened it up, passing out plates and glasses before pulling out a pitcher of homemade lemonade and the covered bowl of pasta salad and box of cucumber and hummus sandwiches.
Santana fixed the lemonade into cups, twisting on the lids and handing them to the youngest members of the family. Kayla smiled at the new water bottle Santana had bought her with her name on it as she took it and took a healthy drink of the juice.
Santana unpacked the baby bag, grabbing the training cup with breast milk in it for him. She popped it into his mouth and helped Rachel get food onto plates for the older kids. "Looks so good, Rachel." She smiled and fixed the busy mother a plate as Rachel served up food for her children.
Cale grinned, grabbing a piece of rotini from his plate and putting it in his mouth with a mischievous grin, "Good, Mama!"
"Cale, use your fork not your fingers," her tone was chiding but she said it with an indulgent smile. The whole family was together and she felt more content than she had in weeks. "Thank you, Santana, I do try to provide my best for my family. So when we're all together, I try to knock out all the stops."
Santana took a bite of her sandwich and smiled before pulling a small piece of just hummus and bread and popped it in Alex’s open and waiting mouth. He clapped and chewed the food before opening up again. Santana continued this process a few times with pasta and bread before Alex moved back to his milk. "He likes it." She smiled and went back to eating her food. Kayla leaned against her mom and munched while Cale laid on his stomach in between them both, kicking his feet up into the air.
Santana looked over and saw the two men who had commented on them earlier smiling. "We have fans." Santana pointed out, her head nodding over in the direction of the men. "I think they might have the wrong idea." She said softly.
She glanced over at the two men and waved, prompting Ryan to haul the fawning Chuck away. "I can't say I'm overly concerned with the opinions of others, Santana. Besides, it seems the only possible misconception is that we are a family, and, Santana," Rachel glanced up at Santana with a soft smile, "I was under the impression that we are a family."
"We are." She smiled, her eyes staying on Rachel’s for a few seconds longer than she knew she should. Cale looked up with a toothy grin, "I mean we have an awesome family." She moved Alex as he finished his milk and relaxed into her arms. She settled him in between her outstretched legs. Alex rested his head on Santana’s leg and looked around.
"Ma?" He said, looking up then over at Rachel.
Cale kicked his feet, munching on one of his sandwich wedges and grinning messily up at Santana, "Wants Santa."
She shook her head, "He wants your mom, Cale." She ran her fingers through thick baby hair as the rest of the family finished eating.
"Nuh-uh," he shook his head, grinning around his sandwich, "Mama's Mama." He took a bite, chewing and swallowing before continuing, "Ma's Santa."
"Oh." She stated, looking down at Alex. "Alejandro?" She asked, causing him to look up and cock his head to the side. "I’m Ma?" her voice wavered as she spoke. She was scared to hear the answer no matter what it was. She had so many issues swimming around her head when she heard Cale confirm her confusion.
Alex beamed and nodded, looking up and reaching his arms up and playing with her long braid that hung over her shoulder. "Ma. Ma. Ma. Ma." He looked over at Rachel. "Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama!" he babbled causing Santana to smile no matter how scared she was about the implications of the term.
"That's right, baby boy," Rachel murmured, leaning over to kiss his messy head. She'd had her own revelation about what was meant when Alex called for his Ma last week while Santana was at work, Kayla explaining as she played with her dolls in Rachel's room. She'd given it a lot of thought and decided that if Jesse couldn't be the one he turned to for another parent, Santana was the one she wanted him to look to.
"Okay..." Santana said as she watched Rachel’s face. She leaned over without thinking and pushed a lock of Rachel’s hair back that had fallen out of her hair clip and pushed it back behind her ear. "I think I can handle that." She pulled her hand away and let it fall down the strand and backed away.
Rachel offered a shy smile at the easy casual intimacy from the other woman. She'd missed her touch more than she'd realized since their drunken night months ago, so that simple touch meant more to her than she was sure she wanted to let on. "You must admit that it makes sense, Santana. You are in the position of a second parent for him, so it is only natural for him to look to you in such a manner."
"Mmhmm." She stated looking down and seeing him falling asleep and the fact that Cale had curled up on the blanket with Kayla who was reading a picture book to him. Santana scooted closer to Rachel and sat so they could watch the back of the kids heads as they read. They haven’t been this close together since they had kissed, and Santana just bit her lip and looked at Rachel. "I missed you." She whispered, looking into her eyes trying to convey her feelings in a simple phrase.
Rachel looked at her with shy glances and a tiny smile, reaching up to brush her hair back from her face and tuck it behind her ear. "I've missed you too, Santana," she whispered, leaning slightly closer almost unconsciously.
Santana’s eyes shifted over to check that the kids weren’t looking and she moved closer and her bottom lip brushed against Rachel’s. "Tell me to stop." she whispered as she pressed her lips against Rachel’s top lip. "Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you." She said so only Rachel could hear.
Santana was teasing, she knew they had to figure everything out still, but the day in the park - together, as a family - was giving her more bravery where the other woman was concerned than she ever had before. "Tell me."
Rachel's eyes drifted almost closed at the gentle kiss. "I don't want to..." the words slipped softly from her lips, little more than a breath.
With that, Santana kissed her. She carefully brushed their lips together kissing her soft and teasingly. She couldn’t stop, her tongue flicked between the other woman’s lips causing her to smile. She knew they couldn’t get away with the moment for long, with three children around them but it was sweet and tender. After a few light presses of lips together, she pulled away and smiled as she moved back to sit up straight.
Rachel stayed leaning toward Santana with her eyes closed for a moment after the other woman pulled away. When she managed to regather her scattered thoughts, she reached out and took Santana's hand, looking down at their joined hands for a moment before glancing shyly up at the other woman. "I think perhaps we should talk, Santana. About this," she squeezed her hand, "about us."
"I think we should." Santana replied, her thumb running over the other woman’s hand as she watched the children. "I think we should." She smiled and kissed the side of Rachel’s head and pushed her sunglasses down and laid back, keeping their hands connected on her stomach, right behind Alex’s head.
Chapter Twenty-Three