Chapter Twenty-Six

Santana tapped her hands against the steering wheel as she gazed at the house in front of her, her eyes darting around nervously as she willed herself to move from her seat. She had been sat outside her own house with Rachel for probably way longer than was necessary and she could sense her girlfriend's agitation at their increasing tardiness.

'Okay and if either of them says anything about baby photo's then I swear to god-'

Rachel sighed as she reached over to pry one of Santana's hands off the wheel 'Sweetie, we've been over this a hundred times. I promise you I am very good at dealing with other people's parents and I promise I won't let them break out the baby photo's'

'Right' Santana said with a nod 'Let's do this'

Taking a deep breath the Latina finally opened her door and got out of the car, scurrying round to the other side she waited for her girlfriend before heading for the front door. She could feel her heart pounding with each step and before she knew it her hand was reaching for the front door and they were walking inside.

They had barely made it past the threshold before a woman's voice ran out 'Mija!'

Santana's face lit up as she watched her mum barrelling down the hallway towards them, she might not be around that much but when she was the older Lopez tried her best to make up for her absence. Letting her mum scoop her up into a big hug Santana grinned 'Hola mama, ¿Qué tal?'

The two exchange a brief greeting before Santana remembered the girl standing next to her, blushing slightly she threw an apologetic smile at the singer as she gestured to her 'Sorry, mama this is Rachel she's a…friend from glee club that I've been staying with for a bit'

'It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Lopez' Rachel said, her formality quickly cut off as the older Lopez woman wrapped her in a welcoming hug.

'Please call me Carmen' the older Lopez replied before turning back to her daughter 'You didn't tell me your friend was the Rachel Berry'

Santana stuttered as her eyes flicked between the two women in front of her 'Well I-'

'Santana sent me a video of you all performing at regionals, you were fantastic and you were clearly robbed of Nationals!'

'Oh I…thanks Carmen' Rachel said nervously as she tested out the informal name.

Sensing Rachel's uncharacteristic nervousness Santana swept in 'Is Papi around?'

Mrs Lopez's face fell at her daughters words 'Oh mija, I meant to call earlier. There was an emergency at work and he had to go in, but he promised he would be back in time for dessert'

Santana tried to cover up her disappointment as she plastered a fake smile on her face but it did little to mask the hurt 'Sure, right…erm, was there anything you needed us to help with?'

'Ana he didn't want to go but you know how it is-'

'It's fine' Santana stated firmly, her natural defences already springing into action at the familiar sense of being let down 'Look, if you don't need us then I'm going to show Rachel around okay?'

'Okay' Mrs Lopez agreed with a sad nod 'Dinner will be ready soon though'

Santana barely acknowledged her mum as she reached for Rachel's arm and tugged her forward; as they ascended the staircase the cheerleader gritted her teeth trying to hold back the tears. It was stupid really, to get so upset over something that she knew was going to happen but still, she had let herself get her hopes up, something she promised herself she wouldn't do anymore, only for them to be smashed back down.

As the two entered Santana's bedroom she tried to swallow down her frustration 'So you survived the first encounter with my Mum, well done'

Rachel nodded as she watched Santana flop down onto her bed 'She seems nice, I'm-I'm sorry about your Dad though, I'm sure-'

'It's fine' Santana interjected her tone sharp as she glared at the ceiling.

Rachel walked over to sit beside her girlfriend; reaching out tentatively she took her hand 'Except that it's not'

Santana let out a bitter chuckle 'I should realised it was too fucking good to be true, you'd think I'd learn but no, I actually believed that we could have one normal night as a family'

'He could still make it, your Mum said-'

'She always says that' Santana revealed, her voice quieter now 'When I was little she used to say he'd be back before we finished cooking, then before we started eating…then dessert. Eventually I realised that once he's gone, he's gone. Work comes first'

'I'm sorry' Rachel offered as she reached over to wipe away a stray tear from her girlfriend's cheek 'But at least your Mum's here, she's trying'

Santana sat up; leaning on her elbows she sniffed 'Yeah, I guess'

Rachel smiled as she tugged Santana up and off the bed 'Good, so it would only be right that we went and helped her with dinner'

'But she said she didn't need any help' Santana groaned as she was pushed out of her room 'Can't we just hide up here? I can think of way more fun things to do-'

'Don't try and persuade me San, we are helping and that's final. I wouldn't want your mother to think badly of me'

The Latina chuckled as they headed down the stairs 'Pfft, she loves you; after all you are the Rachel Berry'

Rachel felt her face redden 'I don't think anyone's every referred to me as the Rachel Berry in a good way before, I think your mother and I will get along very well'

'Suck up' Santana teased as they reached the bottom of the stairs, drawing her girlfriend closer she leant forward and brought their lips together. It was meant to be a short kiss but as seemed to happen a lot the kiss deepened. Rachel had just wrapped her arms around the cheerleader's waist when a voice rang through the house.

'Girls, dinner is….' Carmen's voice trailed off as she rounded the corner and saw the two girl's locked together 'Ready'

Springing apart the two brunettes gasped, knowing it was pointless to try and deny what her mother had seen Santana took a deep breath 'I…I didn't want you to find out like this'

It wasn't exactly much of an explanation but it was the truth, Santana had envisioned coming out to her parents a lot, especially over the last few days, and this was definitely not one of the top ranking options. Silence hung in the air as Mrs Lopez looked from her daughter to the increasingly uncomfortable girl next to her.

'I'm very sorry Mrs Lopez' Rachel began, and Santana relaxed a little as the singer began to speak – it was more than a little unnerving when the singer was quiet for longer than a few minutes 'I think that I should probably leave-'

'No!'

Santana felt her eyes go wide as she looked at her mother who had matched her outburst.

Carmen smiled, taking advantage of her daughters shocked silence she stepped forward 'There is no need for you to leave Rachel, I invited you to dinner and you should stay especially since it seems you are more than friends with my daughter'

'Really?' Rachel squeaked, her normally faultless voice failing her.

'Of course' Mrs Lopez replied warmly 'Now come on, the food is getting cold'

Ushering the girl's in front of her the three made their way to the kitchen and took their seats around the table. It was quiet for a moment as they all helped themselves to food and Santana couldn't help but shift restlessly in her chair as she poked at her dinner.

'Ana will you please stop fidgeting' Mrs Lopez asked calmly 'And you're supposed to eat food not poke it'

Rachel bit back a giggle as she eyed her girlfriend.

'I…I don't get it' Santana said finally 'We're just going to sit here like nothing happened?'

Mrs Lopez shook her head as she reached for her drink 'What would you like me to say? That I'm surprised? Because I'm afraid that would be bit of a lie mija'

'What's that supposed to mean?' the cheerleader sulked as she stared at her mother.

'It's not as though I haven't had my suspicions, you might think you're hard to read Ana but having watched you grow up I have to say that you have always been very, very…'

'What?' Santana pressed.

'Gay' Mrs Lopez replied quickly with a grin as she shared a knowing look with Rachel 'And I bet I'm not the only one who knows you that sees it'

For her part the cheerio, barely managed to blink in shock 'Wh-I-…How?'

'Oh come on, when you were five you cried because one of your friends got you a Ken doll and told you he had to marry your Barbie. When you were eight you told me you were going to marry your teacher Miss Carlen and only last month I overheard you telling Brittany that you were never watching Grey's Anatomy again because Arizona would clearly never have left Callie to go to Africa'

Santana was pretty sure her face had never been a darker shade of red, feeling her girlfriend trying desperately to hold back her laughter the Latina crossed her arms and huffed 'Point taken'

Rachel giggled as she reached over to pat her girlfriends' shoulder 'It's okay, I threw my entire Buffy boxset out after Tara got shot'

Santana tried to hide her smile as she looked at the tiny diva 'That actually makes me feel a little better'

'Mija, as long as you are with someone who makes you happy that's all that matters to your father and I' Carmen said 'Now, finish your food because I have got the best vegan-friendly ice cream hidden away in the freezer and if you don't hurry up I'm eating it all to myself!'

Santana grinned as she picked up her fork and commenced shovelling her food, reaching under the table she ran her hand over Rachel's thigh, settling it to rest of her knee she sighed contently when she felt the singer reach down to clasp their hands together.

There may be a lot of things Santana wished she could change; she wished her Dad was around more and that her mum didn't have to be away so much, she wished the ignorant morons at school would stop giving her a hard time, she wished Mr Shue would stop wearing those fricking vests…but right now things were looking pretty good and she knew a big part of that was done to the girl sitting next to her. Rachel had given her something that few other people had, a second chance, and Santana was determined not to screw it up. The rest of the world could say what it liked but Santana smiled as she realised that she just didn't care what anyone thought as long as Rachel was by her side she knew things would be okay in the end.

A/N – So that's the end, a massive thanks again for reading guys!