A/N: Here we go, the Santana's Baby sequel is finally up. This is the first time I do a sequel to one of my stories and it's been something else writing it. This story is so different from anything I have written before that I even surprised myself with the amount of angst it has. Some of you know that is not my usual style of writing and it really has taken a lot out of me at times. But so far, I like what I've done with it and I hope you do as well.
As the chapters are posted, you will find out more, you will understand some things better and I hope you will be rooting for them as much as I am.
Chapter One
Good times, they will come and go
Hard times we will surely know but our love will pull us through
It's Not a Dream – Sharon Corr
0-0
"Please hurry, daddy," Quinn whispered as she ran her fingers through her disheveled hair for what seemed like the hundredth time.
"I'm trying to, darling, but traffic is not cooperating with us."
"Goddamn New York traffic," she growled as she closed her eyes and started praying harder than she had in years, her leg bobbing up and down nervously.
"We'll get there soon," he murmured as he changed lanes hoping things would speed along. He was worried sick as well and he understood the urgency she was feeling.
"She has to be okay, daddy. I already lost Santana. I can't lose one of my kids as well," she sobbed. "I won't be able to survive it."
He rested his hand on her knee and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Don't talk like that right now, Quinn. You haven't lost your wife and you won't lose Isa either."
"We've been separated for three months. It sure as hell feels like it's over. And now this!"
Russell knew he had to get Quinn to focus or things would get out of hand. "Look, Quinn, let's just concentrate on one thing at a time. Right now the most important thing is Isabel. Once we get through that, we'll start working on you getting Santana back."
"You're right, daddy, and I'm sorry," she conceded as she saw the hospital up ahead. "Thank goodness we're almost there."
"I'm dropping you off at the emergency room entrance and then I'll go park. I'll meet you inside after. Judy and Maribel should be there shortly. Carlos is already in the hospital and I'm sure he's been kept informed as to what is happening even if he's just teaching now."
"I hope so. Papi won't let anything happen to my little girl."
The SUV hadn't come to a full stop in front of the ER doors yet but Quinn bolted from the truck and ran inside the waiting area, worried eyes scanning the space for a familiar face.
"Mamma!"
Quinn turned and rushed towards Sebastian, who wasted no time throwing himself into her waiting arms. She held him as tightly as possible as he broke down in tears.
"I'm here, darling. Tell me what's happening, please. Where is mami?"
"She was taken into one of the offices to talk to the surgeon. Abuelo is with them right now and Uncle Blaine is somewhere with Isa. This is such a fucking mess, mamma!"
Quinn didn't even think about reprimanding him for his language. He was sixteen and level headed, so for him to use such an expletive in front of her only worried her more.
"Baby, I need you to take me to them right now," she said in a broken voice. She hadn't been expecting surgery to be part of the treatment. That could only mean bad things.
All Santana had said when she had called her was that there had been a car accident and Isa had been rushed to the ER in Mount Sinai. She had been crying and just asking her to hurry before she had to hang up to deal with some nurse that was calling out to her.
Let her be okay, Father, she silently prayed as they walked hurriedly down the hallway.
"They're in there," he said as he stopped and pointed at a door.
"Wait for me here, okay, sweetheart? Grandpa is on his way in," she instructed as she placed a loving kiss on his forehead.
He merely nodded before she knocked on the door a single time and opened it. Her eyes immediately fell on her wife, who jumped out of her chair the moment she saw her.
"Quinn!" she cried out in relief and rushed towards her.
Forgotten were their marital problems for the time being.
The blonde caught her as she threw herself at her and held her tightly. "I'm here, baby girl. I'm sorry it took me so long. Traffic was awful."
The endearment escaped her without notice but at a time like this, she needed the closeness that had been missing between them for months now.
"I'm just so glad you're here."
She gave her wife a squeeze and moved back, using her fingers to gently wipe at her wet cheeks. "Tell me what happened."
"It's m-my f-fault," she broke down crying. "Isa and I were a-arguing again and she was so angry with me, Quinn. She y-yelled some pretty awful things before r-running out of the brownstone and I guess across the street. I was just going after her when I heard the tires screeching and her s-scream."
"Oh, God," Quinn whispered.
"I'm so sorry, baby! I didn't know she'd run out like that or I would have stopped her."
Quinn held her wife closer again. "I know, sweetheart. What's going to happen now? Why does Isa need surgery?"
"Quinn," Carlos finally spoke. When the blonde turned to look at him, he moved closer and put his hand on her shoulder. "They're prepping her for an emergency intervention because there is internal bleeding. She's not doing well right now."
"No!" Quinn cried out as she brought Santana's body closer to her own and held on for dear life. "That's my little girl, papi."
"I know, mija. We're going to do everything humanly possible to make sure she makes it out of the OR alive. One of my colleagues will be in charge of the operation and I've asked to assist. You know I'm not going to let anything bad happen to her."
"I trust you, papi. Please save our daughter," Quinn begged before kissing Santana's temple.
"We have a private waiting room where you can all wait together. The media knows nothing yet, but we're not taking chances. Maribel and Judy know to go there when they get here," he told them. "But I have to go right now. Time is of the essence."
They simply nodded and followed him out the door. Once outside, she wrapped her arm around Santana's waist and extended her free hand to Sebastian, who immediately grabbed onto it. As she looked down the hall, she saw her father approaching them and then they all followed Carlos to the waiting room. He hugged all of them quickly before rushing out of the room.
Quinn led Santana to a sofa and sat next to her, keeping her close. Their problems had to be put aside right then and they had to come together as a family if they were to get through their current heartbreak.
"Is Max at his music class?" she asked Sebastian.
"Yes. I called Aunt Rachel and she's on her way with him now. I think Aunt Britt is coming with them as well."
"Thank you, darling."
"Is Isa going to be okay, mamma?"
She contemplated lying for a moment, but decided there was no use in hiding anything from their kids. Up until their separation, their family had always been closer than most and they always faced things together. Now was not the time to start keeping things from each other. Sebastian was their oldest and very mature for his age. He loved his siblings dearly and was very protective of them. It was only fair to keep him informed. She took a deep breath and held his hand tightly before speaking.
"She's not doing well right now, baby, but we have to have faith that she is going to make it through this, okay? Abuelito is going to do everything in his power to make sure she recovers fully and we're going to be here to help her when this is all over."
He simply nodded as his eyes filled with tears. She pulled him into her side and just held them close as they both cried. Tears were falling down her cheeks as well and she didn't know what to do to make everything better.
"I'm so sorry, Quinn. I never meant for this to happen," Santana whispered brokenly as she buried her face on Quinn's warm neck and wrapped her arm around her waist.
Quinn rubbed her back tenderly and kissed the top of her head. "There is no use blaming anyone, darling. We just have to be strong now and hope for the best."
She wasn't surprised an argument between mother and daughter had gotten out of hand. Ever since Quinn had moved out at Santana's request, things had gone downhill between mother and daughter. Isabel had been completely opposed to Quinn leaving and blamed Santana for it.
Quinn had tried to explain to their still temperamental daughter that she understood where her mami was coming from and was willing to do whatever was necessary to fix their broken marriage. Isabel had wanted to move in with her, but Quinn didn't think that would help the situation. After an intense conversation with her wife, they had decided that Quinn would just move to the basement apartment and the kids could spend the night with her whenever they wanted.
Now sixteen, fourteen and eleven, they were all active in afterschool activities ranging from sports to the arts, and that kept their minds occupied most of the time, something she was grateful for.
Sebastian was still a serene teen that loved everything to do with art, from singing to acting to dancing. He knew how to play the guitar and the piano and was already looking at following in Rachel's footsteps and getting into NYADA.
Maximilian was very active in sports but he also liked to play the electric guitar and sing. He had been close to Puck since he was a toddler and he had taken him under his wing.
Isabel, just as Quinn had feared all along, was a head-strong, stubborn teenager and was turning into her private school's HBIC. They should have seen it coming. While she adored both of her mothers, she had always been closer to Quinn and usually took her side if there were ever any fights between them.
Quinn had always tried to keep their arguments private, something Santana agreed on, but on the rare occasions one of them would lose it in front of their kids, Isabel always took Quinn's side. No matter who was at fault.
It really wasn't surprising that her wife and daughter had been arguing over her again. Ever since they had separated, things had been volatile between them and any little thing triggered a fight. While their boys tried to keep the peace and not take sides, Isa was adamant on her defense of the blonde and she couldn't understand why she couldn't come back into their home.
Her grades had dropped slightly, something that really worried Quinn. Her behavior at school had also escalated into something that was causing the principal to call them more often than usual. Even with the twins and Elizabeth there to keep her in check, she was turning into a little terror. Quinn had even called Rachel in to help. She had made Isabel understand the dangers of bullying other kids just because she was mad and felt like taking it out on her unsuspecting peers.
She wasn't as bad as Quinn and Santana had been. She'd just make stupid remarks and push people out of her way. She wouldn't humiliate them but she did have a mean streak to her and it was getting out of control.
"Did something happen in school?" she finally asked Santana, who was still cuddled into her side and playing absently with the hem of Quinn's shirt.
They hadn't been that close in months, but Quinn was glad to see that they could still lean on each other when the time called for it. Their family still came first, even if their marriage was on the rocks.
"Not that I know of. She's on her period, though. She's been especially irritable the past couple of days."
"Hmm. What was the fighting about this time?"
Santana sighed softly. "Same as it's been for the last couple of months. She wants you to come home."
"I'm sorry, Santana. I've explained the situation to her time and time again but she's just not dealing with this well. I think it's time we look into counseling for all of us."
Santana lifted her head and their eyes locked and held. "That might be a good idea. I can't do this anymore."
Quinn's heart started beating at a painful speed, stealing her breath in one swoop. "What do you mean? Do you want a divorce?" she asked quietly, keeping in mind that Sebastian could hear them.
"I don't know that I'm ready for that step," Santana confessed. "But something has to give or our family isn't going to recover from this. Look where it's gotten us today."
"I'd be willing to go to therapy," Sebastian interrupted as he looked at both of them. "I don't want you guys to get a divorce before trying to fix our family first. It wouldn't be fair to any of us."
Santana and Quinn exchanged a look before Quinn looked over at her father. He understood the meaning clearly and moved closer to them.
"Sebastian, come with me to see if we can find your grandmas."
Sebastian looked back at his mothers and his look said it all. He knew they were trying to get rid of him for the moment.
"This conversation isn't over. I haven't wanted to get in the middle of this, but I'm not losing my family without a fight," he warned them quietly.
He got up, kissed both of their cheeks and then followed his grandfather out of the room, leaving them both speechless.
A few minutes of silence went by before Quinn finally got up and started pacing back and forth.
"He's right, San. I'm not ready to give up on us either. I know things are really shitty right now, but once Isabel is out of danger, we're going to sit down and talk about this and make some decisions." Quinn looked at her pointedly. "We once made a promise to each other to fight for our marriage if things ever got bad. We promised we wouldn't do what my parents did and that is exactly what we're doing now."
Santana sighed. "I know, Quinn. I remember that promise we made to each other. Let's just get over this huge hurdle first."
"Together," Quinn pushed. "She needs us both. We're stronger when we do things together."
Santana relented and nodded. "We'll do it together."
0-0
A/N 2: I've been trying my damnedest for months to find a name for this story that would do it justice but nothing was coming to mind until this morning. On my way to work I listened to Sharon Corr's song It's Not a Dream for the first time and after putting it on reply a few times, it all just came together in my head.
I don't promise weekly updates, nor is the story finished. Please, if you decide to continue reading it, be patient with me. I'll do my best to continue it in a timely fashion.