Warnings: None. Just us getting a little weepy in the end notes.
On the drive back, Santiago and Leah discuss plans, details, how things would happen, and how things would change. At one point, Pope pauses and stares off into the space on the road ahead of them for a moment. Leah picks up on it immediately as easily as if she could have seen tangible wheels turning and looks over from the passenger seat.
“What are you thinking about over there?”
“So follow me through this line of thought, and feel free to say no when I’m done,” he begins and she nods, waiting for him to continue. “Esperanza already calls you Mama, you’re the only mama she knows, and truthfully the only one that she’s ever going to know. What if, and I know this sounds a little crazy but…what if you adopt her? Obviously I’m already totally okay with it, and it would only be a matter of filling out and filing the legal documents. What do you say?” He finishes in a rush, wanting to get it out, and knowing that honestly, Leah is Esperanza’s mother in every way that matters.
“You really want me to do that?” Leah asks. She knows that this is big, certainly bigger for Santi than him asking her to marry him. This was him saying that he was willing to share the legal responsibility of his daughter, the most important thing in his life. Leah is honored that he would trust her with that.
“Yes I do, and I think Esperanza would too. If you want to talk to her about it we can. I don’t know how much she’ll be able to comprehend, but we could try.” Santiago reaches across the center console to take her hand, “I love you, Esperanza loves you, my mother loves you, and Richard adores you too. I don’t want to have just one foot in any more, no more half-assing. I’m all in this.”
Leah pulls their joined hands up to her lips and presses kisses to each of his knuckles. “Okay, I’m all in too. But we have to talk to Richard about this first.” She knows that the man has become an influential part of their lives and he deserves to know that they’re planning on taking this step with Esperanza, who will likely be his only biological grandchild.
“Deal. After we get back, we can go talk to him some time this week,” Pope says, pulling their hands towards him and planting a firm kiss on the back of her hand. “All in.”
After Santi and Leah had returned home and got settled back into their routine, and everyone had a chance to fawn over their rings, they made plans to go see Richard. The older man cleared his schedule for the afternoon, on the condition that they bring Esperanza along with them so he could take her out to ice cream.
When the small family arrived at his office, his secretary, a kind older woman who had been with the company for decades, smiled at them in greeting. As they waited, she let the comment slip that “Mr. Westingham has been a very different man now that he has something to focus his attention on. No more late nights in the office and he actually smiles again. He hasn’t done that since Virginia was a teenager, back before he lost Ella.”
Shortly after that small revelation, Richard walks out of his office to greet them where they’ve been waiting for him. He smiles at the pictures they make sitting together on the bench, Esperanza perched on Leah’s lap, babbling away at her father over something that is clearly very important to her.
“Santiago, Leah, Princesa, welcome! I’m so glad that you all asked to come by today,” he says as he strides across the space toward them. He shakes Santiago’s hand, hugs Leah, and when he turns his attention toward his granddaughter. He opens his arms to take her from Leah, but Esperanza practically launches herself out of Leah’s arms as she squeals “Papa!” and throws her small chubby arms around his neck. She loves Papa Westi, and she knows that there’s always a good chance that seeing him means that she gets ice cream.
“It’s good to see you, sir. We actually came to discuss some adult business with you, if that’s okay,” Pope tells him, his posture stiffening as a wave of nervousness washes over his body.
“Absolutely. Charlotte, would you mind watching Esperanza for a moment?” Richard asks, addressing the older woman. She just smiles and nods, and it’s easy to see that she’s overjoyed to see the man she’s known for years finally happy again. With Esperanza happily transferred into the care of Miss Charlotte, the trio of adults heads into Richard’s office.
Once they’re all seated around his desk, Richard begins speaking, “I see rings, so congratulations are in order. I am pleased that you both finally decided to do something about solidifying this relationship, although I do hope that I didn’t miss the wedding.” He looks slightly hurt as he finishes. Although he knows he has no right, over the past few months he has come to view Santiago as his own son.
“Oh, yes sir, definitely congratulations, but no marriage yet. This just happened this past weekend. We happened to propose to one another on the same trip,” Leah tells him, flushing slightly under his intense gaze. Richard nods, looking more at ease now knowing that he didn’t miss out on anything.
“No, no marriage yet, but what we did want to talk to you about was Esperanza. We would like, well, I would like, if Leah were to legally adopt Esperanza. Meaning that she would absolutely be Esperanza’s mother in every way but biological. But legally, we would have the same responsibilities for her. And obviously, we would both be responsible to love her and raise her as best as we can. I know that Lacy is no longer in Esperanza’s life, but Leah has been there through everything. And to be honest, if I”m going to make her my wife, then she’s going to be around her all the time anyway,” Santiago says, feeling a bit like he’s pleading his case before a courtroom judge.
Richard looks between the couple and hums contemplatively. “I agree, Virginia is no type of mother, nor is she ever going to be. I think it would be an excellent idea for Leah to adopt Esperanza and make the family completely official. At least legally speaking, since we all, including Princesa, know exactly who her mother is,” he says before pausing. “This wouldn’t change that I’m still able to be a part of her life, correct?” He asks, worried that he could potentially lose what has quickly become the best part of his life.
“No sir, absolutely not. She would still come to visit with you, and you would still be her Papa Westi, just legally I would be her mother. We still want you to be around for her, and for us. You’re an excellent person, and she deserves to grow up knowing her grandfather. Just because we get married, or I legally adopt her, doesn’t mean that there wouldn’t be room for you too,” Leah tells him. “She’ll just be an extra loved little girl, and that’s not a bad thing. Family is important.”
After being assured that the current dynamics of his relationship to them would not be changing, Richard walks around his desk to the couple and gathers them both up in a hug. “I have no objections to Leah becoming Esperanza’s mother legally. In fact, I know a judge who would gladly review the case and settle the paperwork. Now, talk to me about this wedding while we go get some ice cream with my granddaughter…” Richard says, already on his way out of the office.
That evening was meant to be a small family dinner to catch up after everyone’s vacations and celebrate Leah and Santi’s engagement, but Jayme had quietly invited everyone. She hadn’t given any explanation, just that everyone should make it over to their house for a barbeque. By the time Santi and Leah showed up with Princesa, Frankie and Jayme were out back with their own children, Mama Garcia was there, Hayden and Benny, Will, Papa Westi, and Smokey and Diane (who had recently convinced all the kids to start calling her Lolli).
Pope and Leah look a bit overwhelmed at the number of people gathered in the Morales’ backyard, but by the time they set Esperanza down to go play with her cousins and make the rounds of hugging everyone, they’re thankful that their entire family is together. They take care to keep their rings as inconspicuous as possible, at least until they can find an appropriate time to tell everyone together.
After dinner has been eaten and everything has been cleaned, everyone is spread out across the yard talking and enjoying themselves. The grandmothers are chatting away together, the kids are all playing tag with Uncle Benny, and Richard and Smokey are getting along surprisingly well.
Pope wraps Leah up in his arms, pulling her back to his chest so he can rest his chin on her shoulder as he whispers, “Are you ready?”
Leah spins in his arms and cups his face in her hands before staring into his eyes and planting a quick kiss on his lips, “I’m ready if you are. All in.”
Santiago smiles as he responds, “All in,” and then turns her around again so he can gather everyone’s attention.
He grabs her hand and they walk out to the edge of the patio before clearing his throat and lifting Leah’s left hand in his.
“Hey everyone, we’re getting married!”
WHEW.Princesa is finished. At least for now…
I don’t think either of us had any idea when we first started bouncing around HCs about Santi as a girl dad that we would end up HERE. Here being almost 70k later and with plans for even more spin off stories and one shots.
We’re so incredibly thankful to all of you for going on this journey with us, and we hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have.
If you’re wondering what you’re gonna do without Santi, Leah, and The Gang™️ every Sunday, never fear! Each of the boys will be getting their own story/one shot in the near future, with some group reunion one shots.
Will’s very hyped up lunch with Mamá Garcia (the prologue/preview to his story, The Last to Fall) will be coming next Sunday, August 15, same bat time, same bat channel!
For our next We Were Warriors adventure, check out Down Payment, Frankie and Jayme’s story, starting Sunday, August 22, on @jedi-mando’s blog! She’ll be using the same WWW/Princesataglist for Down Payment, so if you would NOT like to be tagged, please let her know!
My soul sister and One Brain Cell™️ chaos twin @jedi-mando had a work emergency come up this weekend, and won’t be able to post Chapter Four of Down Payment this evening.
Hopefully it’ll be popping up on a screen near you next Sunday, September 19th! I’ve read it, and I promise, it’s worth the wait.
Thanks so much for being understanding and we’ll see you back next week, same bat time, same bat channel!
A/N: Thanks so much for such a warm welcome of Jayme and Frankie! They truly are an amazing couple and I’m happy to explore more of this universe with you! A huge thank you to my One Braincell™ partner @hotspacepilots for reading this over as I go.
Word count: 3.6k
Warnings: Explicit language, more Tom being an asshole
It was coming up on a year of Jayme being a part of Frankie’s command. She had fit in beautifully, managed to get them out of a few scrapes, they had all attended Sandy’s wedding to his fiancé, Tom left her alone after the incident, and Frankie had tried his hardest to retain his military bearing around her.
The pre-mission and the post-mission drinks remained a tradition, of course, and they were at yet another pre-mission drinking night. Sandy and his wife, Amy, had left early. She was pregnant and the morning sickness was difficult, but they had managed to come out for Sandy to have a beer with his team. That night Jayme had decided against the regular jeans and shirt she wore and went instead with her black party dress, paired with red high heels and the perfect shade of red lipstick to match. She sauntered up to the guys, who were already gathered around the table, and everyone let out a whistle.
A/N: So I apologize right now if I get an Army term wrong, I’m Navy but can’t really make Catfish a Sailor can I? This work will span the period of time before, during and after Triple Frontier. It is also the precursor to ALL of the We Were Warriors series and definitely a precursor to Princesa, but we do get to see Leah, Pope and Mamá Garcia in this story. I gotta say a huge thank you to my partner in crime in this series and who constantly encourages me @hotspacepilots. Hope you enjoy!
Word count: 2.4k
Warnings: Explicit language, some sexism/misogyny, Tom being an asshole.
“This is Lieutenant Connor. They will be joining your merry band of misfit toys, Major Morales. Do take better care of this one than you did the last,” Colonel Sanders instructs Major Francisco Morales, as he stands in the office being introduced to the newest member of his squad’s tactical support team. The last one had to take a leave of absence due to some issues. Issues that members of his squad may have caused somewhat.
“Welcome aboard, Lt. Connor. Hopefully you will fit right in. Follow me please,” Major Morales says, more politely than most military officers would with regards to a junior ranking. They walk silently until they get to the room that housed the desks for the men of his squad and the few that were set aside as support members, when Francisco pauses, “Just be warned, we are a little intense to deal with.”
“Define intense,” Lt. Connor says, looking up at him.
“Well, we scared the last tactical support assistance we had off, they decided they could hang with us and they did pretty good for a fair amount of time until Sandy employed the snake. Then they split,” Francisco relays. Despite the fallout from it, that was actually a pretty funny story. The previous TSL officer they had, Lt. Dickerson, was good at his job, if a bit of a pretty boy, and he kept his mouth closed for the most part. At least that was until Francisco’s best friend and squad mate, Santiago Garcia, had found out the man was afraid of snakes. Needless to say, there is now a boa as the squad’s unofficial mascot.
A/N: Welcome to the beginning of Will’s story! It goes along with our entire We Were Warriors universe. The Lunch Date is the prologue, and there will be more to come (eventually), but everyone was so invested we felt like we needed to give the people what they wanted to see. And apparently, what y’all wanted to see was Will and MamáGarcia.
Word count: 2.1k
Warnings: None!
Gloria Garcia had been anxious her entire flight down. All of the nonsense with her granddaughter, Esperanza, and the child’s birth mother had her a fidgeting wreck. Gloria Garcia was not a fidgeting wreck. Thankfully, the young woman sitting next to her turned out to be absolutely lovely, and someone that she was glad to spend the flight speaking with. They had started out talking about books, and it had morphed into more from there. Gloria told the woman about her trip, why she was going, and how excited she was to see her Princesa, regardless of the circumstances.
The delightful younger woman’s name was Evelyn Jasper, and she explained that she was flying into town because she had a new job opportunity and she needed a fresh start. They chatted amicably for the majority of the flight and wished each other well as they departed from the baggage claim. When Gloria left with a tall, handsome blond man and an obviously pregnant woman, Evelyn waved her off and thought nothing of it. She got a taxi and went to her hotel to begin preparing for the interview she had scheduled for the morning.
The next day was a blur for everyone, Gloria and Evelyn included. Mamá Garcia learned that her granddaughter was safe, would be staying with her son and Leah, and that her biological mother wouldn’t be causing any more problems for their family. Evelyn’s interview had been a great success, and after a simple introductory review, they offered her the position on the spot. She quickly agreed and adjusted her plans with the airline so that she could spend the next few days looking for a new place to live.
That evening before Gloria went to bed, she joked with Santiago about her upcoming lunch date with Will, and while it was all in good fun, she was obviously looking forward to it. There was something about the soft spoken and meticulous man that Will had become after his fiancée left that left him that left him deeply endeared to the woman. She was proud of the growth that he had experienced and the man he had grown to be.
The next morning Will parked in the driveway of Pope’s house, grabbing the flowers off the passenger seat as he went and heading to the door. He knocked loudly as he opened the door and walked in to see Gloria and Leah already waiting to greet him.
“Good morning ladies,” he smiles at them both before handing the flowers to Gloria, “These are for you.”
“Oh William, you didn’t have to, but you are so sweet,” Gloria says, patting his cheek in her motherly way. She turns to head toward the kitchen to find a vase. Or at least, a substitute for one, since she knows her son doesn’t have any. She thinks that hopefully Leah will rectify that for him soon.
“Yes, I did. My mother said never to show up empty handed for a date, even a lunch date, and I would hate to disappoint her,” Will answers with a smile as he and Leah watch Gloria disappear into the kitchen.
“You know that she’s never going to stop if you keep encouraging her,” Leah says, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. She knows that Gloria means well, but it also points out the glaring reality that Will is the only single one left of the gang, and they occasionally give him a hard time about it.
“Eh, it’s okay. I wouldn’t want to disappoint her either, and besides, it’s looking more and more like she’s my best girl,” he laughs. “Maybe if I was thirty years older…” he says, knowing that Gloria is walking back from the kitchen and can hear him.
“Will, if you were thirty years older I would have proposed years ago. But you are not, and I am not thirty years younger, so we will just have to settle for dreaming. I am not cut out to be, uh, what is it called, a jaguar?” Gloria asks, causing Will to chuckle and Leah to snort.
“It’s a cougar, Mamá. An older woman with a younger man is called a cougar,” Leah tells her after composing herself.
“Ah,si si, una puma. No, I am not cut out for that life,” she says as she gathers her things. Will turns toward the door and offers his arm to her. “Come now, we will go to lunch. I am looking forward to this though. I will be home soon, mija. We will figure out dinner later.” With that, Gloria and Will head out the door for their lunch.
Will takes the time to open the car door for Gloria, walks her into the restaurant on his arm, and helps her with her chair. He does all of the things that his mother and father always taught him to do, even though some of them seemed to be falling out of style. But that was a thought for another day. They talked all through appetizers and hit a lull after ordering entrees, but Mamá Garcia has plenty more questions for Will.
“So, tell me about this ‘I’m dating her but we’re not dating’ girl that your brother had at the house yesterday,” Gloria probes. She’s been curious about the situation ever since she met Hayden. She wants all of her adopted sons to have partners as lovely as Jayme and Leah.
“Hayden, her name is Hayden. She’s a fighter like him. I’m not sure what she does for her other job, but she fights in a female league that’s comparable to Benny’s. I know he says they’re not dating, but they are dating. If he’s told our mom about her yet is another story, but from what I understand, he loves her. Or at least it certainly looks that way,” Will explains.
“I see. I wonder if he is aware that he is awfully clingy for one who claims that he is not dating her,” Gloria chuckles, taking a look around the restaurant as she waits for her meal to arrive. As she scans the room, she notices that the young woman from the plane, Evelyn, is at the hostess stand and she appears to be alone. Gloria had liked the woman immediately when they had met, and when she sees her again, an idea starts forming in her brain.
“William, will you please excuse me for a moment? I see someone that I know and would like to say hello to them,” she tells him, rising from her chair and quickly taking off before Will can object. She approaches the hostess stand and as she does, Evelyn raises her head.
“Mrs. Garcia! How lovely to see you again, how did everything turn out with your granddaughter?” Evelyn asks with a smile.
“Everything turned out wonderfully. She will be staying where she belongs with her father and her mama, and she also got a new grandfather out of it all. How about you, my dear? How was your interview?”
“It went well! I was offered the job and I’m staying a few extra days to find a place to live,” Evelyn tells her with a bright smile, excited and proud to have landed the new job.
“Excellent! Come join us, my dear, I’m here having lunch with my son, you should meet him,” Gloria says, motioning for Evelyn to follow her. When Evelyn glances over Gloria’s shoulder, she sees the same tall blond man from the airport watching their interaction. God, he certainly is handsome.
“Are you sure? I would hate to impose…” Evelyn is cut off as Gloria reaches out to grab her hand and tugs her along, reassuring her the entire time that she would be welcome. As they get closer to the table, Will stands to his feet and grabs another chair, already sensing that the woman Gloria was leading over would be joining them for the rest of their meal.
“Will, this is my friend Evelyn, and she has graciously agreed to join us for lunch. Evelyn, this is one of my sons, Will,” Gloria gets introductions out of the way as everyone gets settled. Will holds chairs for both of the ladies as they sit before returning to his own seat.
Evelyn looks around for a moment and Gloria asks, “What are you looking for?”
“I was looking for your daughter, Gloria. I thought that she would be here too,” Evelyn tells her, confused.
“Oh, Jayme! She is at home with her husband and their children. He didn’t have to fly today, so he was staying home to go with her to her doctor’s appointment later,” Gloria explains. Seeing that Evelyn doesn’t look any less bewildered, she goes on, “Ah, lo siento, you are confused. I have four sons, but only one is biologically mine, and the rest are his friends. Santiago is my first son, and his best friend is Jayme’s husband. Will here and his brother Benny served with them both, and I have adopted them all.”
As Gloria explains the situation and Evelyn gains a better understanding of her “sons” and the family dynamic, a small part of her is excited to hear that Will is not married, or that at least Gloria has yet to mention a partner.
“Now, Santiago is with Leah, and his daughter Esperanza is the one that I came out to see this week,” Gloria continues, pulling out her phone to pull up the photos from yesterday, the happy adults hugging the dark haired toddler. Will sits quietly as he watches the woman chat, noticing a spark of recognition in Evelyn’s eyes when she looks at the photo of Pope, Leah, and Princesa. He noticed right away that she was gorgeous, she seems to be quiet but confident, and clearly comfortable speaking with Gloria.
“Is that Leah Connor?” Evelyn questions.
“Si, it is, do you know her?” Gloria asks. A tinge of defensiveness enters her voice against her will, but after all of the drama had just settled down, she is more than a little protective of her family.
“I do know her, she used to teach a self defense class in that town that I live in. We had become friends and I was disappointed when she left, but glad that she was moving to be closer to her sister. It looks like it worked out well for her,” Evelyn answers.
“Ah! Well, I hope that you will have an opportunity to reconnect with her now. So, tell me about this new job…” Gloria launches into a series of questions and Evelyn answers until Gloria has exhausted her curiosity and Will finally has a chance to join the conversation. Evelyn learns that Will is very well spoken, that he’s a partner at the company he works at, and that he enjoys helping his brother train as an MMA fighter. He was also an uncle to several nieces and nephews, both from his own sisters and Santiago and Frankie.
As the lunch hour turns into early evening, Gloria checks the time before exclaiming that she needs to return to the house, as she had promised Leah that she would be back in time to help with dinner for the evening. The time had passed so easily when Will and Evelyn had begun speaking and asking questions of each other that Gloria had simply sat back with a smile and cataloged things for later, like telling Leah that her friend was moving to town.
“What is going on in that golden head of yours, William?” Gloria asks on the drive home, knowing that the wheels are turning in his mind. “What did you think of Evelyn? She is a lovely girl, yes?”
“Yes ma’am, she was. To tell you the truth, I probably could have spent several more hours talking to Miss Jasper. She’s easy to get along with. Did you have a good time?” Will responds carefully, knowing that the older woman is probably weighing everything he had to say.
“I certainly did, thank you for taking me. Hopefully I can find a place we like and these lunches can happen more frequently. Would that be okay with you?” Gloria asks with a smile, already knowing the answer.
“Of course I would, you know you’re my best gal, Mrs. Garcia. I would love to go to lunch with you any time we both have a free afternoon.”
“That’s a good thing, William. I plan on making it happen. I look forward to our lunches, and maybe in the future we could include Miss Jasper from time to time?” She hopes that he will be agreeable; after seeing how they had talked and how ease they were with each other, Gloria hoped that she would get to witness the start of a beautiful friendship, and possibly more to come.
For more We Were Warriors content, check out our finished story Pope’s Princesa or Down Payment, coming next week from @jedi-mando!
It might be a little early to call but I think I survived January 2022. It has been the month of illness for my family. I went down with a sinus infection weeks ago and recovered and then wound up with that lovely virus that has been in the news for the last 2 years.
My dad got it and pretty sure my mother got it too. The only one who doesn’t seem effected by it was my teenager cause he hides in his room all the time.
Then (SURPRISE) my boyfriend ended up sick. But even sick I managed to get in overtime (I think overtime and me trying to work as much as I did was the cause of the first illness.) I have help now on my job so that means more time for other things.
1) I am alive. I have been on overtime since mid-December and managed to only have 4 days off the last month.
2) I have the next chapter of Down Payment so I will be sharing that.
3) I am so so sorry for just ditching like that, I just literally had no time even for my phone. If I wasn’t working or driving my kid somewhere I was sleeping.
See I am going to take a vacation this next week for my son’s birthday. But as Murphy’s Law would have it work has piled on tons for me to get done and I’ve been working 2 weeks straight again.
There will be a new chapter of Down Payment next week I promise as I will be using one of my vacation days just to write.
Once again I am so so sorry. I’m going to do better. I promise. Thank you for your patience.
I’m trying to get the next chapter (or bonus chapter ) done but I am currently under a Poppet who has decided she is a lap kitty all of a sudden. Please be patient.
