Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mercedes was walking toward the buses after her appearance in the River Run Mall in Carson City, Nevada.

“Hey, Mercedes! Wait up!”

Mercedes stopped and turned toward the smiling Latina. She shook her head; Santana smiling always seems strange yet, these days, all she does is smile.

“What's up?”

“We're spending the night here, right? Heading out in the morning?”

Mercedes nodded. “We're leaving at noon. Why?”

Santana bit her lip and ducked her head. “I was wondering … is it okay if I take Britt out tonight and we spend the night at a hotel?”

“Yeah, of course. Just be back before we roll out or we're leaving your nasty asses here.” She laughed.

Santana, if her skin tone had allowed it, would have blushed. “It's our anniversary. It's been a year since we decided to give it another shot. I just wanna do something special. And, you've been so great about sharing the bus and everything but …”

“Nah, girl, I get it.” Mercedes' face softened. “Go have fun. Happy Anniversary. Happy looks pretty good on you.”

Santana laughed. “Thanks. I kind of need a favor, too.”

“Oh, now you're just pushing your luck.”

Santana's smiled brightly. “I just need you to find a way to get Britt to be busy whenever we have a stop of a day or more. Like, I don't know, choreography emergency or something?”

Mercedes quirked a brow and looked at Santana. “You're taking her out for a special date but … you want me to get rid of her?”

Santana smiled shyly and ducked her head. “I was hoping you'd come ring shopping with me.”

Mercedes' jaw dropped. “Girl … you did not just … are you serious?”

Santana nodded. “Yeah. By the end of the year I wanna propose. By the end of next year, I want her to be my wife. I love her, 'Cedes. She's my favorite person and … I've lived with her and I've lived without her … with her? Infinitely better. Like, a million times better.”

“I'm going to hug you right now.” Then she did just that, grabbing Santana in a tight hug. “Congratulations. I am so happy for you two.” Mercedes wasn't even slightly surprised. Those two could have gotten married at seventeen and she wouldn't have been surprised. They just … fit. It was so weird; they were so different but, oddly, they complemented each other completely.

Santana laughed as she returned the hug. She wasn't much of a hugger (other than Britt, of course) but there were a few people who could get away with it; her mother (sometimes), Mercedes, Quinn, and Courtney.

“Well, I haven't asked and she hasn't said yes so … hang on to those congratulations. So, does that mean you'll help me?” She asked as she pulled out of the hug.

“Oh, she'll say yes. No doubt about that. That girl is beyond crazy about you. Always has been. And, yes, I'll be glad to help you. We can check out the places in the malls we're in and if they're too expensive or not what you're looking for, Google will help us find those smaller family owned places.”

“Thanks, 'Cedes.” Santana heaved a sigh of relief. “I've been looking online but I don't want Britt to catch me; I've got an idea of what I'm looking for, though.” She opened her phone and showed Mercedes a simple round cut solitaire in a platinum band.

“Oh, that is so Brittany. Simple, elegant, not real flashy, and it won't get in the way when she dances.” Mercedes nodded.

“Yeah. If I can find a blue diamond, to match her eyes, that'd be great but I'm not going to let that hang me up. Around a carat, I think.”

Mercedes smiled and looped her arm through Santana's, leading her back to the bus. “Girl, I am so happy and excited for you.”

Santana grinned. “Thanks 'Cedes.”

xoxoxoxoxo

When they got back to the bus, Santana went to the back room that she was sharing with Brittany. She packed an overnight bag for the two of them and pulled out the dress and heels she wanted to wear for the evening.

When Brittany came in half an hour later, Santana asked her to pick out an outfit for dinner and dancing later.

“Um … okay?”

Santana laughs. “I'm taking you out tonight and then we're going to spend the night in a hotel.” She shows Brittany the dress she'll be wearing. “I figure we'll go check in and get ready at the hotel before dinner.”

Brittany smiles broadly and goes through her clothes before settling on an electric blue knee length dress and black heels.

“I already packed us a bag for tomorrow morning. We just need to be back here by noon.” Santana tells her as she calls for a cab.

“Sounds great, honey.” 

xoxoxoxoxoxo

They arrived at the hotel around four-thirty in the afternoon and got showered and dressed for their six-thirty dinner reservation.

They had been seated at their table for about twenty minutes and were just waiting for their food. The place had a karaoke stage and several people had already “performed”. They weren't bad, exactly, but Brittany was used to Santana's singing so she was a little critical.

“Next up: Santana Lopez!”

Brittany's jaw dropped as she looked at Santana. Santana just smiled broadly at her as she stood up and made her way to the stage.

“Hi, I'm Santana Lopez and tonight marks the one year anniversary of the day that the love of my life and I got back together.” Brittany's jaw dropped again. She checked her phone; how did she forget that?

“So, I'd like to dedicate this song to her. I love you, Britt. Always.”

Hmm yeah eh eh
Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come, my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we'd get there someday

They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together, still going strong

Mm (you're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss goodnight

Ain't nothin' better
We beat the odds together
I'm glad we didn't listen
Look at what we would be missin'
They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together, still going strong

oh

You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss goodnight
You're still the one

Yeah (you're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life, oh yeah (you're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss goodnight
I'm so glad we made it
Look how far we've come, my baby

Brittany has tears in her eyes as the restaurant erupts in applause when Santana finishes. This girl. Always surprising her. Brittany falls a little more in love every day. She smiles and shakes her head as Santana makes her way toward the table.

“Santana …”

Santana leans in and kisses her softly. “Happy Anniversary, baby.”

“I can't believe I forgot. Or, didn't realize today was the eighteenth, actually.”

“I'm glad you didn't,” Santana grins at her, “it wouldn't have been much of a surprise if you had.”

“Still … I didn't even …”

“Britt, we're having dinner, we're going dancing, and then we're going to a hotel for the night. There's nothing else I want or need other than to spend time with you.”

“I love you, Santana, Happy Anniversary, honey.”

“I love you, too, Britt.”

xoxoxoxoxo

After dinner, Santana took Brittany's hand and led her down the street a couple of blocks. Brittany had expected a dance club but, once again, Santana surprised her; they walked into a ballroom dance hall.

“I thought maybe we'd do something different? We're always going to clubs and I know you don't get a chance to flex your ballroom moves so, I just thought …” Santana shrugged as she paid the cover charge to get in. “I mean, we can always leave here …”

Brittany silenced her with a kiss. “This is perfect, San. Just perfect.”

The band was just starting Glen Miller's “In the Mood” as they entered the hall and Brittany practically dragged Santana to the dance floor. She rarely got the chance to swing dance and she absolutely loved it. She led Santana around the dance floor and, as always, Santana caught up and followed her lead in no time.

Brittany loved it. They spent the evening dancing Salsa, Swing, Tango, and Merenge. She had to slow her steps a bit at first so Santana could pick them up and follow but she had an amazing time. When they took a break to grab something to drink, several people commented on how well they danced. Santana, of course, gave Brittany all the credit which had Brittany blushing.

They left the hall a little after one and caught a cab to the hotel.

Once they were in the room, Brittany pulled Santana in for a deep kiss. As she kissed her, Brittany slid Santana's zipper down, pulling back to allow Santana to step out of it. Leaving Santana in her bra, panties, and heels, she smiled as  she led Santana to a chair, sat her down in it, straddled her, and kissed her again.

“I love you, Santana Lopez. Now, you sit here and be a good girl, no touching.” Brittany smirked at Santana and stood up, she pulled her phone out of her bag and quickly scrolled through it until she found what she was looking for. 

“You sang for me, I dance for you.”

She set it on the dresser, hit play, and the sounds of Britney Spears' “I'm a Slave 4 U” came through the speaker.

Santana laughed as Brittany grinned at her. But her laughter quickly died as Brittany shimmied out of her own dress and began to dance provocatively, leaving Santana's mouth dry.

Brittany strutted, shimmied, and swiveled to the floor and back up. As the song neared its end, she got down on all fours and prowled toward Santana with a predatory glint in her eye. When she reached Santana, she got up on her knees and pushed Santana's knees apart, moving herself in between them.

“Remember,” she whispered in Santana's ear, her tongue snaking out to caress the shell, “no touching.”

Santana shivered. She was wet, she knew she was, she could feel it. Brittany could turn her on with just a look, never mind the dance she just did. Brittany's hands slipped behind Santana and removed her bra before leaning back on her heels and staring at Santana.

“So beautiful,” she leaned in and captured one of Santana's nipples in between her teeth, tugging at it and flicking it with her tongue.

Santana couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips. “Fuck, Britt.” She slid her hands under thighs to keep from reaching for the blonde. She could feel Brittany's grin against her skin. This girl was going to be the death of her, she was sure of it.

Brittany moved to the other breast and peppered it with kisses before latching onto the nipple and affording it the same treatment as the first one. Santana squirmed. She groaned. Her hips canted up.

Brittany smiled as she kissed her way down Santana's body. She grabbed behind Santana's knees and pulled her forward, then lowered herself to Santana, working her mouth against Santana's clothed center.

Santana writhed and wriggled, looking for friction, for relief. She had to stop herself, twice, from grabbing Brittany. Brittany looked up through her lashes at Santana, watching Santana. She knew.  Santana could tell by the look her eyes that Brittany knew exactly what she was doing to the Latina. 

“God, Britt, please,” the moan came out as a beg. Pleading. “Please.”

“What do you want, baby?” Brittany dragged her tongue along the edges of Santana's panties, tracing the crease from hip to thigh.

“More, Britt, please … god … fuck me.” She strangled out as Brittany flattened her tongue on Santana's still clothed center.

“So wet … you sure you want more?” Brittany teased, slipping her fingers under the waistband of Santana panties. “Sure you can …” sliding them slowly down Santana's thighs as Santana lifted herself off the chair, “handle more?”

“Yes, oh, fuck, yes, Brittany!”

Brittany continued to slowly, so slowly, infuriatingly slowly, work the panties down Santana's legs. Santana was ready to tear them off herself by the time Britt got them off her.

Brittany slid her hands up Santana's legs, massaging her thighs, spreading them further. Santana was shaking, trembling … she wanted … everything. When Brittany's tongue finally stroked through her center and circled her clit, Santana thought she'd come right then. She arched against Brittany's mouth and continued to struggle to not touch Brittany. She wanted to run her hands through Brittany's hair, pull her close, kiss her senseless. But Brittany was using her tongue against Santana, stiffening it and pushing it into her, then pulling it out and licking up to her clit, circling without touching, then repeating the process.

Santana moaned and growled. The guttural noises she was making were just that, noises; carnal in their need.  There was nothing coherent. Just when she thought she'd lose her mind, Brittany slid two fingers into her and captured her clit between her lips, suckling it, laving it. Her fingers slid slowly in and out and Santana could feel the build up.

“Britt … Britt … more … please, Britt … harder … fuck me, BrittANY!” She yelped as Brittany added a third finger and picked up the pace.

“Come for me, baby” Brittany whispered against her clit, the vibration sending her over the edge, screaming Brittany's name.

Brittany crept up Santana's body, her fingers still sliding in and out slowly, bringing Santana back down. She kissed Santana softly, so gently, and held her close until Santana's trembling and shaking slowed. When she pulled back, Santana opened her eyes and the look of pure adoration on Brittany's face caused her to surge up, surprising Brittany as she lifted the girl up and carried her to the bed.

“I love you, Britt,” she husked, hovering over the blonde. “My turn to show you just how much.”

xoxoxoxoxo

The next morning, they got back to the bus and Santana practically crawled into their bed, barely grunting a hello to Mercedes.

“You and Santana have a rough night?” The diva laughed.

Brittany grinned. “The best night. She's just a little tired. Cards?”

Mercedes pulled out the deck and the two of them spent the trip listening to Santana's soft snores and playing Gin Rummy.

Chapter Text

When Santana had seen the schedule for the tour and noticed dates for California she checked the map to see where, in relation to LA, those appearances would be.

None of them were particularly close but she texted Dani anyway.

To: Dani
6-15-14 9:37pm
Yo (: So I'm on tour with Mercedes and Britt and we're gonna be in Fresno, Bakersfield, and Barstow. I know none of those are really close to LA but I figured I'd reach out

From: Dani
6-15-14 9:42pm
When will you be in Bakersfield?

To: Dani
6-15-14 9:46pm
We get in late on June 20th and leave late on the 22nd but we don't have any appearances on the 21st

From: Dani
6-15-14 9:53pm
Awesome! I'm actually headed to Bakersfield right now. We're filming “Dream Chasers” in Bakersfield from June 16-30. So, lunch on the 21st? 

To: Dani
6-15-14 10:02pm
Sounds good! Let me know where and what time is good for you. Jas with you? Be cool to meet her. Britt and Mercedes will probably join.

From: Dani
6-15-14 10:06pm
Yeah, Jas is with me :) It'd be cool meeting Brittany and Mercedes, too. I'll let you know the where and when after we get there and see what's there. Can't wait!

To: Dani
6-15-14 10:12pm
Awesome. Looking forward to it!  (: talk soon.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Brittany, Santana, and Mercedes arrived at the Golden Noodle and checked inside. Not seeing Dani, Santana let the hostess know there would be five of them and they were waiting on two others. The hostess told them to let her know when the party was there and she'd seat them.

Mercedes phone rang and she excused herself to take the call, leaving Brittany and Santana waiting just outside the entrance.

“You nervous?” Britt looked at Santana.

“No.” Santana's brow scrunched in confusion. “Should I be? Why should I be?”

Brittany laughed. “No, I guess not. I was just wondering.”

“Nah. Dani's cool and she's bringing her new girlfriend. You were the one who said I should just think of her as a friend,” Santana shrugged, “so that's all she is to me.” She smiled at Brittany. 

“Yo, chica!”

Santana turned and smiled as Dani walked towards them. Holding her hand was a beautiful, tall woman with mocha skin, brilliant green eyes, and midnight hair braided in cornrows with brightly colored beads clacking cheerfully as she walked. They were both dressed casually in shorts, t-shirts, and sandals.

As they approached, Mercedes returned from where she had stepped away to take her call.

“JAS?!”

As the tall woman called out: “'CEDES?!”

The two women hurried toward each other and hugged tightly while Brittany, Santana, and Dani looked on in confused amusement.

“Girl, it's been a minute! What are you doing here?” Mercedes asked as they separated.

“I'm here with Dream Chasers and … well … Dani.” She smiled.

“I want to hear this story but, maybe after introductions and going inside?” Dani laughed. “Santana, this is my girlfriend, Jasmine. Jas, this is my friend, Santana.”

Santana smiled and shook Jasmine's hand. “Well, you already know Mercedes,” she laughed, “Dani, Jasmine – this is my girlfriend Brittany and our friend Mercedes.”

They exchanged pleasantries and headed into the restaurant where the hostess seated them immediately.

“So, Santana, I owe you a couple of thank yous,” Jasmine smiled at the Latina after their drink orders had been taken.

Santana looked at Jasmine in confusion.

“You gave Dani Geno's number. I met Dani at Geno's. Dani gave my resume to the folks on Dream Chasers … so I got my job and my new girlfriend thanks to you giving her Geno's number.”

Santana laughed. “Well, full disclosure, Mercedes gave me Geno's number.”

“But you asked her for it and you passed it on to Dani.” Jasmine smirked.

The waiter came back with their drinks and the conversation lulled while they looked at the menus.

“Okay, so how do you two know each other?” Dani asked once the waiter had taken their food orders.

“I met 'Cedes at one of Geno's parties about … two years ago?” Jasmine looked at Mercedes.

Mercedes nodded. “Yeah, it was right after I graduated and moved to LA.”

“Geno kind of … collects? I guess? lost souls.” Jasmine explained. “He got to LA about twenty-five years ago. He was, like, eighteen and didn't know anyone. So as he got older and starting meeting people, he just kind of networked them all. His house is always open for people who need a place to crash or need help finding an agent or a job or whatever. He says he never wanted anyone to go through it all alone. His partner, Kailey, is the same way. They're good people.” Jasmine said.

“When I called him, he was just so cool. Telling me where there were communities I'd be interested in, inviting me to parties and dinner. Really, Santana, it was the best thing you could have done for me.” Dani grinned as the Latina blushed.

“I texted Mercedes. It wasn't that big a deal.” She tried to deflect the attention away from her.

Brittany kissed her temple. “You always deny your caring, generous heart.” She whispered.

Their food came and they moved on to other topics; Dream Chasers, the show Dani moved to LA for, was doing really well entering its second season and Dani had been offered a record deal.

“That's amazing! Congratulations, Dani,” Brittany smiled brightly.

“Thanks.” Dani blushed and smiled back.

They discussed music, movies, television; talked about the tour and how much fun they were having interacting with people.

Lunch got interrupted twice by people who recognized Dani and wanted an autograph.

“Does that ever get old?” Mercedes wanted to know.

“Not old, exactly,” Dani frowned in thought, “most of the time the fans are pretty cool and respect boundaries pretty well but every now and then they get really demanding and rude.” She shrugs. “I guess that's all part of the fame package.”

Santana nodded, thinking about her own desire for fame.

“Jasmine, I don't think Dani ever mentioned what it is you do on the show. I mean, I've watched every episode and haven't seen you …”

Jasmine laughed. “I'm a stylist; hair and make-up. Dani actually got me in before we even started dating.” She smiled softly at Dani.

“That's awesome.”

Brittany stood up and excused herself to the bathroom with Jasmine getting up and following her. 

Mercedes phone rang again and she sighed as she noted who was calling. “It's the label, I gotta take this,” she said, standing up and walking toward the doors.

Dani smiled. “You look happy.”

“I am. So you do you.”

Dani nodded and took a drink. “I am. Things are really going well with my career and my love life.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“You and Brittany seem to be doing well.”

Santana nodded. She didn't want to hurt Dani's feelings by gushing about Britt.

“Santana, we're friends,” Dani smiled knowingly at her, “it's cool. You never looked at me the way you look at her.”

Santana smiled softly. “You didn't look at me the way you look at Jasmine, either.”

Dani thought for a minute. “I think … if I hadn't gotten the opportunity to move to LA we'd have been one of those couples that go along for eight or ten years, never moving forward but not really having a solid reason to break up. We'd have been … content, I guess would be the word. And we'd have both been missing something but we wouldn't have really realized it.” She grinned at Santana, “See? Everything works out the way it's supposed to. We got each other ready for the person we were meant to be with.”

Santana smiled brightly. “Yeah. Keep a secret? From Brittany, anyway.”

Dani nodded.

“I'm ring shopping.”

Dani's jaw dropped. “Oh, my goddess! That's so awesome!” She got up and hugged Santana briefly. “Congratulations!”

“Thanks. I'm somewhere between really excited and about to keel over from a heart attack nervous.”

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Brittany was washing her hands when Jasmine stepped out of the stall.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Brittany dried her hands and faced Jasmine, a smile gracing her lips.

“Does it bother you? That Dani and Santana are … friends?”

Brittany smiled. “No. I mean,” Brittany considered her words, “I trust Santana, but, I also know that she and Dani were never really serious. At least,” Brittany gets a little nervous … maybe it was more serious for Dani than it was for Santana, “Santana's always said that they never got to a serious point.”

Jasmine nodded. “That's what Dani says, too. I don't know. I just … I've never had an ex as a friend.”

Brittany nodded. “I think that's probably the way it is for most people. Usually break-ups are messy and come after a lot of fighting and miscommunication and maybe cheating or other stuff that's really hard to get over, you know? With Dani and Santana, though, there wasn't any of that. They weren't in love but weren't fighting or anything. They'd only been together, like, less than three months. They were more … I don't know … friends who dated? There's really no reason for them not to be friendly.” She shrugged. “And, really, they haven't said anything like 'remember when' or 'remember the time'. They haven't, like, reminisced at all. It's kind of how I am with my two ex-boyfriends. Like, we might as well not have dated for all it meant, you know?”

“That actually makes a lot of sense. Yeah, most of my relationships ended pretty badly.” Jasmine nodded.

“For what it's worth? I don't think you have anything to worry about. When we go back out, watch her eyes and her face … she looks at you the way Santana looks at me.” Brittany grinned. “Like I hung the moon and she feels like the luckiest person ever.”

Jasmine laughed. “Really?”

“Serious. Just watch.”

They left the bathroom and walked back toward their table and Brittany almost laughed when Dani caught sight of Jasmine; her whole face lit up. 

Brittany nudged Jasmine. “Told ya,” she whispered.

Jasmine smiled and ducked her head. “I never noticed before.”

“You'll never not see it now.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Santana asked as Brittany sat down next to her again.

“You.” Brittany grinned and left it at that, laughing as Santana scowled at her.

Mercedes came back and dropped into her chair with a sigh and a scowl.

“What's going on?” Santana frowned in concern.

“They added eight shows in Buffalo. We're going to be in Buffalo for eight days.” She sighed. 

“Score!” Brittany said. “When?”

Dani looked at Brittany. “You're excited to go to Buffalo?”

“Oh, yeah, Buffalo is awesome! Santana and I spent three days there last November. It's got a lot to do and it's only like twenty minutes to Niagara Falls.”

Mercedes laughed. “Well, we'll be there from September eighth until the sixteenth. We have the eighth and the fourteenth free.”

“Oooh, San, it should still be warm enough for Canalside to be open.”

Santana grinned. “We'll check it out, Britt.”

Mercedes shook her head and laughed again. “This is why I love being on tour with the two of you … you find the fun wherever you go.”

“Britt finds the fun, 'Cedes. I'm just along for the ride.” 

They all laughed and conversation flowed freely from one subject to the next until they realized they'd been sitting there long enough to get hungry again. They left the restaurant with Jasmine and Dani promising to come to the evening show the following day.

Xoxoxoxoxo

When they got back to the bus Mercedes went off to find Chandler, the tour manager. 

Brittany and Santana climbed into the bus and Brittany pulled Santana into her.

“You okay?”

Santana smiled softly. “I'm fine, Britt, promise. Dani is just … Quinn.”

Brittany nodded in understanding. She leaned down and caught Santana's lips in a soft kiss, pulling the Latina closer. Santana snaked her arms around Brittany's neck as the kiss deepened. It wasn't passionate; a simple affirmation of love.

When they broke apart Brittany led them to the couch and sat down, pulling Santana into her side.

Santana cuddled in close.

“What did you and Jasmine talk about?” She asked softly.

“You and Dani. She wanted to know if it worried me that you and Dani were friends. I think she might have been a little insecure. Which, I mean, you're hot, so yeah.” Santana giggled. “I told her to watch Dani's face and eyes when we got back to the table. Dani looks at Jasmine the way you look at me; I really don't think she's got anything to worry about.”

“She doesn't. Dani is happy. And, well, I'm off the market.” She leaned up and kissed the underside of Brittany's jaw.

“Damn straight you are.” Brittany turned her head and kissed Santana possessively. “Mine.”

“Always.”

xoxoxoxoxo

When Mercedes got back to the bus she found the two of them asleep on the couch; Brittany was lying between Santana's legs with her head resting on Santana's chest. She was hit with a strong wave of affection for the two women and shook her head as she covered them with the blanket from the back of the couch.

Who'd have thought that the three mean girls of sophomore year would turn out to be some of her closest friends?

Chapter Text

They had finished up in California and moved into Arizona. There had been a performance in Yucca and  then two in Flagstaff; now they were in Winslow for a single performance. They'd gotten in around noon, their performance was at six-thirty, and they'd leave first thing in the morning.

Santana sighed. She didn't realize how grueling the tour would be and they'd only been doing it for less than a month; they had three months left to go. And that fucking song would not get out of her head. She kept catching herself humming it.

Brittany actually had some choreography to learn (that Mercedes hadn't arranged for) so she and Mercedes were wandering the mall looking in the jewelry stores.

“Hey, 'Cedes?”

“Yeah?”

“Would it be okay if we did another song tonight? I don't think this song is going to get out of my head if I don't sing it.”

“I don't see why not. I mean, the dancers won't have anything prepared but I know Britt's a decent free-styler so, yeah. What song?” Mercedes frowned.

“Seriously?”

“Girl, Motown, R&B … whatever you been humming, ain't either of those.”

Santana laughed. “Fair enough. It's an old Eagles tune … you have heard of them, right?”

Mercedes chuckled. “Yes, I've heard of them. Hotel California is classic.”

Santana nodded. “They've got this song; Take It Easy and the one line is 'I'm standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona'  and it's driving me crazy. I'm sure the folks here alternate between loving it and hating it but I think it might be a good 'get the audience participating' song.

“Sounds good to me. Get the music to the band and we'll warn the dancers.”

“Great. Thanks.” She sighed as they exited another jewelry store. “I know I haven't been looking for very long but I was really hoping to find it quickly, you know? Every time I go into a new store I get the nervous butterfly flare up. Then I leave and they kinda crumble.”

Mercedes laughed. “Patience. It's been what? Less than two weeks?”

“Yeah. I know. Patience isn't really my thing though.” She grinned. “Britt's worth it, though.”

“Girl, you got it so bad.”

Santana's grin just got bigger. She knew she did and she didn't care who else knew it too. She had the most amazing woman in the world in love with her and damned if she wasn't going to put a ring on it.

Xoxoxoxoxo

“How's everyone doing tonight?” Mercedes asked and the crowd of around eighty people cheered. “So glad you all came out to hear us tonight!”

They'd been performing for about forty minutes and the crowd really seemed into it.

“Now, my girl, Santana, over here,” she pointed at Santana, “has had a problem all day. She's hoping you can help her with it. Don't blame me, this is all her.” Mercedes winked at Santana as Santana took center stage.

“Way to throw me under the bus, Mercedes,” Santana laughed, causing the crowd to laugh with her. “So, you all have to know this song and I'm guessing you either completely love it, completely hate it, or you go back and forth between the two. Feel free to join in!”

The band started playing the song and the crowd groaned and laughed and applauded.

“Here it comes … 

Well, I'm a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
And such a fine sight to see
It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me

Come on, baby, don't say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me
We may lose, and we may win
Though we will never be here again
So open up, I'm climbin' in
So take it easy”

Santana had to laugh as the crowd shouted the first line. She heard Mercedes laughing behind her as well. She finished up the song and smiled and waved to the crowd.

“Thanks for that! Maybe now it'll get out of my head.”

She stepped back and Mercedes stepped up again and continued with their normal set list.

Xoxoxoxoxo

After the show, the dancers, Mercedes, and Santana all wandered through the crowd. They liked talking to people, hearing what they had to say about the show; what they liked and didn't like. Most folks were pretty easy going and loved what they did. Some even wanted autographs.

Santana looked around and saw Brittany surrounded by six or seven kids and she was showing them some simple dance moves. Santana smiled at the sight; someday, Britt was going to be a great mom.

A woman in her mid-to-late thirties approached her.

“Hi. Santana, right?”

Santana nodded. “That's me,” she smiled.

The woman seemed nervous; shifting on her feet, biting her lip.

“First of all, you have a beautiful voice. It caused to me stop and listen. While I was listening, I noticed something.” The woman sighed, “My name is Janet. I have a fifteen year old daughter. Her name is Casey. Until about two or three years ago, Casey was really outgoing, friendly, always had a smile on her face, chatty. To Casey … a stranger was just a friend she hadn't met yet. Around two and a half years ago, that all changed. She became secretive, moody, closed off; she didn't hang out with her friends at all. At first, her father and I thought it was drugs …”

Santana just listened; she assumed there was a point to all of this and she was hoping Janet would get to it soon because she was getting hungry.

“But,” Janet continued, “there were no other signs; her grades didn't slip, money wasn't mysteriously missing, she wasn't glassy eyed or spacey. Then we thought maybe it was just hormones, teenage moodiness. A few months ago, we saw some things that led us to believe she's gay.” Janet bit her lip again. “We've tried to subtly, and not so subtly, let her know that it's okay. I'm worried. I'm scared. I don't know how to help her. The thing is … I was walking in the direction of the Hallmark store when I heard your voice and stopped to listen. I saw Casey in the crowd and … she was smiling. I haven't seen her smile, her real smile, in almost three years. She was watching you and … just seemed … enthralled? I guess? I … don't know what I'm asking here but …” she shook her head and took a deep breath. “I don't know if you're homophobic or anti-gay … I just … I want my daughter back. I guess what I want to ask is … if she does approach you, please be kind? I don't know if she will or not but the look on her face would suggest she will seek you out.”

Santana smiled kindly as the woman finally got to the point. “I hear you. I got it. If she comes to talk to me, don't worry.”

Janet let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I know I wasn't really coherent …”

Santana laughed. “You were fine. I get it. You don't know me and you're afraid and worried about your daughter.”

“Thank you, again. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. And to her, if she comes to you.” She glanced at her watch. “The mall closes in two hours, I really need to go get the things I came for. And … if she sees me, she may not approach you so, I'm going to slip away.” Janet smiled and nodded as she walked off.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Santana talked to a few other people before spotting a young teen girl looking at her nervously. Without being obvious, Santana moved through the crowd in the girl's direction. 

The girl was tall and heavier set with broad shoulders. She had light brown hair cut in layers that fell just past her shoulders. When she finally reached Santana, Santana noted that she had light brown eyes with gold flecks and was really very pretty. She was wearing a vintage gray Fleetwood Mac t-shirt, worn jeans that looked like they were worn in instead of artistically distressed, and a pair of black Chucks.

“Uh, h-hi,” the girl stammered, “you-you're Santana, right?”

“I am. And you are?” Santana smiled kindly at the girl.

“Oh, I'm, um, Casey. I thought you were amazing.”

“Thank you, Casey, I'm glad you enjoyed it.”

Casey shifted nervously on her feet and, at that moment, Santana's stomach growled.

Santana laughed in embarrassment but she decided to take advantage of the moment. “Hey, I was headed over for a soft pretzel and some lemonade, wanna join me? My treat.”

Casey smiled shyly. “Yeah. I'd like that.”

They walked over to Auntie Anne's and Santana got a cinnamon sugar pretzel while Casey got an original. After getting their pretzels and drinks, Santana guided them over to a bench near where the stage had been. Most of the stage had been broken down and most of the crowd had dispersed; there were a few teens talking to Mercedes and Brittany was goofing around with a different group of teens.

They had been sitting quietly for a few minutes; Santana had wanted to give Casey a chance to get comfortable.

“I love your t-shirt. Fleetwood Mac is one of my all-time faves.”

Casey smiled brightly. “Yeah. I love Rumours but Landslide is one of my all-time favorite songs. I can't really pinpoint why … it just kind of speaks to me, you know?”

“I totally understand.” Santana smiles at the girl as she remembers singing Landslide for Britt.

“Why were you at the mall tonight?” She asked to keep the conversation flowing.

“Oh, my family and I came because my brothers needed new soccer cleats and I needed a pair of sneakers. Dad wanted to look at golf clubs and mom needed an anniversary gift for some friends of her and dad.”

“How many brothers do you have?”

“Three. Davey is ten and the twins, Tommy and Daniel are seven.”

“Wow. That sounds like a handful.”

Casey laughed, it was the first time she'd seemed relaxed since she'd approached Santana. “They can be but they're not horrible.”

“That's good.” Santana smiled.

They fell into silence again for a few seconds before Casey started talking again.

“Can I ask you something? Something personal? I mean … obviously you don't have to answer or whatever …” the younger girl rambled, not making eye contact with Santana.

“Hey, it's okay. Go ahead. If I don't want to answer, I'll just tell you, okay?”

Casey nodded. “Are you … are you gay?”

Santana smiled softly. “I am.”

Casey looked up at her. “Do you, um, do you have a girlfriend?”

“I do.” She smiled and looked over to where Brittany was laughing with the teens.

“The blonde dancer?” Casey asked.

“Brittany. Yeah.”

“That's awesome.” She fell silent again for a moment and fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt. Then she looked up at Santana and took a deep breath, “I'm gay,” her voice was quiet, just above a whisper.

Santana smiled softly at her. “First time you said that out loud?”

Casey nodded, looking up to try and stem the tears that were threatening to fall.

“How's it feel?”

Casey took a deep breath and swiped at her cheeks. “Good. Scary. Kind of a relief.”

“Yeah. Sounds about right. How long have you been holding it in?”

“Two years, I guess. Puberty hit and all my friends were talking about how cute this boy was and how hot Justin Timberlake was and … I just … was thinking the same things they were except about girls.” She shrugged. “I didn't quite understand at first. It's Arizona, you know? Gay isn't really a thing but we do get television. So, like, I knew guys could like guys and girls could like girls but … I didn't know anyone like that. So I pushed them away and closed myself off so they wouldn't find out.”

Santana nodded. “Yeah. I grew up in a small town in northwest Ohio. I understand. You're a lot braver than I was,” she smiled, “I spent close to three years denying my feelings. Pretending to be straight.”

“What happened?”

“Brittany happened. I was thirteen, almost fourteen, the day we met and I just knew. But I was terrified. Our connection was immediate. We became best friends. We fooled around but I pretended it didn't mean anything.” She sighed. “I fought against it for so long. And, for awhile, Brittany was okay with that. Then she figured out she was worth more than the scraps I was willing to give her. Junior year was the worst. We worked through it, eventually. Then I screwed up.” She shook her head. “Then, last year, after we'd spent ten months apart, she kissed me and said she wanted to be with me. A year later and I'm shopping for rings. Don't tell her,” Santana winked.

Casey grinned. “That's awesome. So, it gets better?”

Santana got serious. “Absolutely. I'm not going to lie, though, sometimes it gets worse before it gets better.” Santana sighed. “Being a teen is hard. Your hormones are going crazy, you're trying to figure out who you are and who you want to be, you're dependent on your parents and facing pressure from your friends. It kinda sucks.”

Casey laughed.

Santana smiled at her. “But … you grow up. You figure some stuff out; a lot you don't figure out. What no one tells you is that everyone is fighting their own battles and nobody knows what the hell they're doing. We're conditioned, you know? Especially girls. To be nice and accommodating; to fit in and to please everyone. But you can't. You can't please everyone. Brittany said something to me when she was trying to convince me to give us another try.” Santana paused, trying to remember the exact phrasing before shaking her head.

“She was trying to convince me to run off to Lesbos and live in a girl-on-girl paradise. I thought she was just running away because she was unhappy and didn't want to go back to school. But she said she didn't want to run away with me because she wanted to run away. She wanted to run away with me because we're the only two truly awesome people she's ever met and she was tired of doing things that only mattered to people who were less awesome.”

Casey smiled at that.

“It reminded me of this old song my mom used to listen to; I don't remember the name of the song, who sings it, or even a word of it outside the chorus.” Santana sang the words softly:

But it's all right now, I learned my lesson well
You see, ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself 

“We spend our lives trying to please other people.” She shakes her head. “Britt's a genius; she figured out something I think most people never figure out. The only person you have any obligation or responsibility to … is you.”

Casey nodded. “I'm just so tired. I mean, I just … wanna be me again. I wanna smile and laugh and be happy and joke with my friends I'm just so scared they'll all hate me. And … I don't know if my parents will be okay with it and …”

Santana smiled kindly at the girl and covered her hand with one of her own, remembering having all the same feelings except she became a popular bitchy cheerleader and Casey became … invisible.

“Hey … coming out is a process and you're the only one who can decide how you want to do it. It's not an all or nothing thing. You don't have to tell everyone. You can tell your mom but not your dad. Tell your best friend but not the guy that sits next to you in chemistry. Take your time and decide who's worth knowing you. Not everyone will be accepting and those are the people you don't want to know anyway. And I say that but I know how hard it is to live it. Living your truth isn't easy.” She glances over at Brittany and points out the group of kids Britt's showing some dance moves to.

“See the little boy … he's maybe seven or eight? Look at him; he wants to dance but … he's afraid. You can see it. He's still too young to hide it. He wants to dance but someone … his parents, a grandparent, an older sibling … probably told him only fags dance. He's not old enough to even know what his truth is and he's already hiding it.”

She looked back at Casey. “It's not easy for anyone because of the way we're conditioned. We want everyone to like and accept us but that's never going to happen.”

Casey nodded her understanding. “There's this girl …”

Santana grinned. “Yeah. There usually is.”

Casey laughed. “She's my best friend. The only one who didn't let me push her away. It's exhausting always hiding from her, trying to keep my feelings in check, being so careful about what I say or do. I just don't want to anymore.”

“I get that. My advice? Be safe and smart about it. Have a bag packed and ready to go; clothes, money, a burner phone with numbers already programmed in, toiletries. Talk to an adult you trust; someone who will pick you up and can give you a place to stay while you figure things out if the worst happens and your parents throw you out. Start simple. Does your friend feel the same? Have you ever talked about this kind of thing?”

Casey shook her head. “I don't know. She's … weird, I guess. I mean, she'll say Boy So-And-So is so cute and then turn around and say Girl Such-And-Such is so hot.”

Santana nods. “Bisexuality is a thing. Sexuality isn't one thing; it's a spectrum. There are sexualities out there that I don't even know.”

“I don't know … I mean … dating someone who's bi? How do you know they're not just experimenting or something? That the first guy to come along won't sweep them away?”

“Bisexuality and infidelity don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. Britt's bi. We've talked about it a lot because of my insecurities. She pointed out that she would no more likely leave me for a man than a woman. She then asked me if I was going to leave her for another woman. Put in perspective; people cheat, sexualities don't. Someone who's committed is committed.” She shrugs.

Casey smiled. “That makes sense.”

Attention Shoppers: The Winslow Corner Mall will be closing in thirty minutes. Please make your final purchases and proceed to the exit.

“Casey, there you are!” Janet came walking over to the bench where the two young women were sitting. She smiled at Santana. “Hello. Santana, right?”

Santana nodded. “Yeah, I'm Santana.”

Janet held out her hand. “Janet Duncan. Casey's mom. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you.” Santana shook the woman's hand, playing along.

“I heard you sing earlier; you have a beautiful voice.”

“Thank you,” Santana grinned.

“Hey, San?”

“Yeah, babe?” Santana turned to see Brittany walking over to her.

Brittany smiled at Janet and Casey. “Hi. Sorry to interrupt but the mall is getting ready to close. You almost ready?”

“Give me a minute?”

Brittany nodded and pecked her cheek before going back to join Mercedes.

“Sorry for the interruption.”

“No, not at all. Casey, your dad and the boys are waiting to leave, too.”

Casey nodded; her face back to its non-smiling state.

“You and the blonde dancer are a couple?” Janet asked.

Santana nodded. “Brittany. Yeah, we've been on and off for six years. On for the past year and, hopefully, for good.” She grinned brightly. “I'm ring shopping.” Santana thought that giving Janet a little more to talk to Casey about might help.

Janet smiled. “That's wonderful. Congratulations.” Then she laughed. “You'll definitely have beautiful children.” Casey looked at her mother with a curious expression.

Santana laughed. “As long as they get Britt's temperament.”

Janet laughed. “Well, we really need to get going. It was a pleasure meeting you, Santana.” Janet held out her hand and Santana shook it again.

Casey bit her bottom lip as she looked at Santana. “Can I … um … would it be okay if I hugged you?”

Santana smiled and pulled her into a hug. “I think you're going to be fine. Good luck.” She whispered.

“Thanks for everything,” Casey whispered back.

As they hugged, Santana gave Janet a wink over Casey's shoulder. Janet looked relieved and mouthed 'Thank you' to which Santana just smiled.

They pulled apart and Santana watched as Janet slipped an arm around Casey's shoulders as they walked off.

Santana smiled as she walked over to join Mercedes and Brittany.

“Everything okay?” Britt asked her.

Santana smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I'll tell you about it later. Your timing couldn't have been better.”

Brittany smiled and linked their hands. As the three of them left the mall, Brittany and Mercedes chatted brightly while Santana thought about the fact that she'd just given advice to another young teen and she really felt good about it.

Chapter Text

They had four shows in Albuquerque and were now in a small town just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico for the next nine days. They had a bit of a break from July sixth through the eighth and had the July fourth holiday off.

The three girls were sitting in Santana and Brittany's room relaxing.

“Come on, let's go see if they've got fireworks for tonight!” 

Santana laughed as Brittany bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, looking hopefully at Mercedes and Santana.

Santana looked at Mercedes. 

“Oh, why the hell not?” Mercedes said as she stood up.

Brittany squealed in excitement and grabbed Santana's hand. “Should we invite the others? The dancers and crew and stuff?”

“Yeah, why not?” Santana answered her and they started knocking on doors.

Two of the dancers and five of the crew joined them; they stopped at the hotel restaurant and had a quick lunch before heading out to see what there was to do and if there were fireworks.

As it turned out, there was an annual picnic/carnival/performance and fireworks. The ten of them laughed and joked as they played games, ate carnival junk food, and watched performers do circus tricks. As the sun went down, they found a spot on a grassy hill to sit and watch the fireworks display. 

Brittany leaned back against Santana and sighed happily as fireworks lit up the sky.

“Good day, love?”

Brittany turned her head and kissed Santana softly. “Best day, baby.”

xoxoxoxoxoxo

After their afternoon performance on the fifth, the three girls headed back into town to walk Main Street and check out the little shops along the way.

They wandered into a small “new age” type shop and browsed through the crystals and tumbled rocks. They each purchased some rocks they found pretty and a few healing and cleansing crystals. Mercedes didn't really believe in any of that but the rocks and crystals were pretty and they couldn't hurt, right?

They were walking along when Brittany grabbed Santana's arm.

“Britt … what ...” she looked at the blonde.

Brittany pointed to a sign in a small storefront window: Madame Carmela's Psychic Readings

“Let's go!” She started dragging Santana in the direction of the shop.

“Oh, hell to the no! Uh-uh, no way am I communing with the devil.” Mercedes stopped walking.

“What?” Brittany looked confused. “It's a psychic …”

“Right. Where do they get their information? Satan. Demon possesses them.” She shook her head.

Brittany walked back over to Mercedes, her eyes puppy-like and a pout on her lips. “Why? I mean, what's the devil get out of it? Mostly, they tell you vague stuff that anyone could tell you but … if it's real, why is the devil? Isn't it just as likely a gift from God? I mean, kids don't know anything about the devil … and babies have been known to see ghosts.” She shrugged. “Isn't the bigger sin to have been given a gift and not use it?”

Mercedes considered that for a moment.

“Besides, it says right on the sign 'for entertainment purposes only'.” Brittany giggled. “So, come on!” She grabbed Mercedes hand and pulled her back to where Santana had waited.

Santana smirked at Mercedes. “See? Not so easy to say no to those eyes and that pout.”

Mercedes chuckled. “Shut up, Satan.”

They walked into the building and a bell above the door jingled to alert 'Madame Carmela' that she had visitors. (Really, Santana thought, shouldn't she just, like, know we're here?)

The front room was decorated in an understated “hippie” fashion. Muted tie-dyed tapestries, soft, squishy couches, pale blue paint on the walls. There were a few magazines on the table, a bookshelf with self-help/self-care books, tarot card sets for sale, crystals, essential oils, incense burners and incense.

“Girl,” Mercedes whispered, “I know what you're thinking cuz I'm thinking the same thing.”

Santana laughed.

A young woman came through the curtained partition. Santana figured she was early to mid-twenties; she had long brown hair that flowed down her back and hazel eyes that shone bright with intelligence. She was barefoot but dressed plainly in a pair of faded baggy jeans and a multi-colored tie-dyed t-shirt. She had a friendly smile.

“Hi, I'm Carmela, how can I help you ladies today?”

“I thought it was Madame Carmela?” Santana was confused, this woman didn't look like any psychic she'd ever known.

Carmela laughed. “If my sign had said Carmela's psychic readings … would you have come in?” She grinned at the girls who shook their heads with a laugh.

“We want to get readings done if you have time? I mean, do we need appointments or something?” Brittany asked.

“No, I welcome walk-ins as long as my schedule permits. Today, I am free until five p.m.. So, which of you would like to go first?”

“Go ahead, Brittany, it was your idea.” Mercedes tells her.

Brittany bounces on the balls of her feet. “Okay, I guess it's me!”

Carmela smiled and led Brittany to the back room.

“Okay, Brittany, have a seat.”

The room was plainly furnished; a wooden table with a moon and stars cloth thrown over it, four chairs surrounding it with several other chairs dotted around the room. There were calming seascapes on walls that were painted the same pale blue as the outer area. A small shelf unit held a crystal ball, several sets of tarot cards, and dozens of crystals.

“So, Brittany, have a seat.”

Brittany sat down and Carmela placed her hands on the table, palms up.

“Place your hands like this,” she told Brittany.

Brittany did as she asked and Carmela took Brittany's hands by the wrist.

“It hasn't been easy but you're happy now.” Carmela didn't look at Brittany, she had her eyes closed. “There is a small problem ahead … it will affect you but won't directly involve you. You're stronger than you think, she will need that strength.”

Carmela opened her eyes. “The one you love, loves you. There will be a decision you will have to make that will be life changing. Only you can make the decision. She has already made hers but is uncertain of yours.” She tilted her head as if listening to something.

“Your great-uncle James says: Follow your heart, Peachtree, it will never steer you wrong.” Brittany smiled. Uncle James had always called her Peachtree because she was 'sweet as a peach and tall as a tree'.

Brittany wondered what decision she would have to make that would affect … “Will my decision affect my relationship with Santana? Will … will we break up?”

“The future past the decision is unclear; until you make your choice, there are hundreds of possibilities. I can tell you that there are many outcomes that show a strengthening of your relationship.” Carmela tilted her head again.

“There is a boy named … Phil? No, Finn. He says he is so sorry. He understands more now and hopes that, in time, you can forgive him. He says he loves you and knows that you will make the right decision and will be happy.”

“I forgave him a long time ago. Is he … is he at peace?”

“He says thank you and yes.”

Brittany nodded. She hadn't expected that. She hadn't expected any of this; she thought it would just be a lot of vague silliness that she and Santana would laugh about. Now, she was worried. Things were going so well and now … 

“Your great-uncle says not to worry so much about the future. Don't overthink anything; follow your heart as you always have and all will be well.”

Brittany nodded and bit her lip.

“That is all I have from the spirits. Do you have any questions?”

“Do you know what this decision is about? Or when I'll have to make it?”

Carmela closed her eyes again. “The what is unclear; the when is before the end of the year.”

Brittany nodded and stood up. “Thank you.”

Carmela stood up as well. “You're welcome,” she led Brittany back to the front and smiled at the two girls sitting there.

She looked at Santana and cocked her head, eyes narrowing in thought before looking at Mercedes.

“You're up next, please.” She said, indicating Mercedes should follow her.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Brittany sat down next to Santana as Mercedes followed Carmela into the back room.  She placed her head on Santana's shoulder, Carmela's words circling her brain. 

“You okay?” Santana asked.

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“Okay.” Santana wasn't sure she believed Britt but let it go … for now. She lifted her arm allowing Brittany to snuggle in closer to her side and kissed the top of her head. “Love you.”

“Love you, too. So much.” Brittany whispered.

They sat in comfortable silence until Mercedes and Carmela came back out.

Carmela smiled and motioned to Santana to join her.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

“What did you say to Brittany?” Santana's voice didn't come out as harsh as she'd wanted. 

“I can't tell you what was said in someone else's session. I can tell you that things are a little clearer now. I can also tell you that she has a decision to make, one you've already made.”

“You didn't tell her about the proposal, did you?” Santana asked the psychic nervously.

Carmela shook her head. “Until I saw you in the waiting area, I didn't know about the proposal.” She smiled. 

Santana nodded and let out a soft sigh of relief. “Okay. Sorry, I just …”

“You love her.” Carmela smiled again. “She loves you as well.”

“Will she say yes?”

“That's unclear. She doesn't know what decision she has to make. There are a number of possible outcomes. Quite a number of them show a strengthening of your relationship.”

Santana nodded. “Okay.”

Carmela put her arms on the table, palms up. “Place your hands like this.”

Once Santana had placed her hands, Carmela held her wrists and closed her eyes.

She nodded and hummed. “You will encounter some trouble soon. It will directly involve you. A dark-haired man will be the cause of it.”

“Will Brittany be okay?” Santana wanted to know, unconcerned about herself.

“It will not involve her directly but it will affect her.  She will want to help; don't shut her out.” Carmela hummed. “The outcome will determine your path moving forward but the outcome is unclear; there are other people involved in the outcome. The outcome, however, will not affect your relationship; it will affect your career trajectory.”

Santana nodded. “Okay.” She considered the implications. “So something will happen on the tour that might cause me to leave the tour?”

Carmela nodded. “That seems to be the case.”

“There is a young man named Finn here; he says he's sorry, he understands more now. He knows you forgave him. He would like you to take a message to his mother and … Rachel?”

Santana groaned. Of course Finn would show up.

Carmela chuckled when Santana groaned. “He says he knows it's a lot to ask.”
Carmela opens her eyes and looks at Santana. “He couldn't ask Brittany. He knows she doesn't like him, even though she forgave him. She doesn't like Rachel either. So he's hoping you will carry the messages. He finally realizes just how big your heart is … and your capacity for forgiveness.”

Santana nods as she huffs out a sigh. “Okay.”

“He wants you to tell his mother that he's okay and he loves her. He knows it's a lot but he'd like you to tell Rachel he loves her. He's at peace and he wants her move on and be happy.”

Santana sighs. “Okay. I can do that.” She had no idea how she was going to tell Carole or Rachel that Finn visited her at a psychic's.

Carmela nods and closes her eyes again. “You will find what you are looking for in Buffalo.”

“There is a man here. Your … abuelo? Yes. Your abuelo.”

Santana stiffened. Why would her abuelo show up? Was he going to disown her from the grave?

“He says he loves you and is so very proud of you. Your father and abuela do not understand now … but they will in time. Be patient. He also says your life will start in New York but will not end there; be ready to make the change when the opportunity presents itself.”

Carmela opened her eyes and released Santana's wrists. “That is all the spirits have to say. Do you have any questions?”

Santana thought for a moment. All her questions had really been answered. She shook her head. “No. I'm good. Thanks.”

Carmela ushered her out and the three girls paid for their sessions. 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

“Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be,” Mercedes said when they got back to the hotel room. “No talking in tongues or anything like that but damn if she didn't know things she had no way of knowing.”

Santana laughed. “She really did. I guess she was the real deal.”

Brittany was still quietly thinking about what the woman had said. “I'm going to go take a shower,” she stood abruptly and walked into the bathroom.

Mercedes looked at Santana, who shrugged.

“I don't know what the lady told her but it seems to have shaken her up a bit. Hopefully she'll talk to me about it soon.”

Mercedes nodded and stood up, hugging Santana before moving toward the door. “I'll leave the two of you alone. If you need me, you know where I am.”

“Thanks, 'Cedes.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Brittany stayed in the shower for a long time just letting the water run over her. She only became aware that she'd started crying when her nose started to run. She shook her head and shut the water off, grabbed a hand towel to wipe her face, and dried off, wrapping a bath towel around her.

She went back into the room after brushing her teeth and dragging a comb through her hair. She felt … drained. Whatever this decision was … it was weighing on her; she didn't want to lose Santana. They were in a really good place.

Santana was sitting on the bed and looked up as Brittany came into the room.

“Hey. Come sit with me.”

Brittany nodded. “Just let me put some clothes on.” She quickly slipped on a pair of pajama pants and a hoodie; the room's air-conditioning was a little high so she was slightly chilled.

She moved over to the bed and sat on the edge. Santana frowned and moved to sit behind her; her legs around Britt's, her arms wrapped around Brittany's waist.

Brittany sighed softly and leaned back into Santana.

“Talk to me, baby.” Santana said softly.

Brittany bit her lower lip and looked up, trying to stem the tears that were threatening to fall again.

“I'm scared,” she whispered.

“Of?”

“She said I had to make a decision. Only I can make it. What if … Santana, I can't lose you.” She sniffled and swiped at the tears slipping down her face.

Santana moved around to sit next to her. “Hey,” she gently cupped Brittany's chin and tilted her face so she was looking at Santana, “you're not going to lose me. Not possible. It doesn't matter what the decision is.”

“You don't know that. If it's a decision only I can make …”

“You really think you'll make a decision that will split us up?”

“Well … no … but, I mean …”

Santana smiled softly. “Let's play a game.”

Brittany's brow scrunched up and she looked at Santana like she was crazy.

“Just go with it for a minute, okay?”

Brittany nodded.

“Okay. It's a year ago and we're sitting in the choir room eating churros and when I tell you that you should be going to restaurants, and concerts, and dating … instead of kissing me and telling me you want to be with me, you break down crying. You're two months pregnant from a one-night stand you had when you were first at MIT because you were lonely and scared.

“Now, you have three options: one) you can have an abortion, two) you can have the baby and give it up for adoption, three) you can have the baby and keep it. You with me so far?”

Brittany nodded.

“You are the only one that can make that decision; no one else can make it for you. BUT, that doesn't mean you're alone. It doesn't mean you're making that decision alone because I'm sitting next to you and I'm telling you that if you go with option one I will go to the clinic with you and I will hold your hand through the procedure then I will hold you all night while you cry. And, every year, I will hold you on that day and help you through it.

“Option two? I will be by your side; I will go to every doctor appointment, I will take child birthing classes with you, I will be in the delivery room letting you hold my forearm – so you don't break my fingers -”  Santana grinned, “and I will be with you when you hold that baby for the first and only time. And, every year, on that child's birthday, I will be by your side to help you through that day.

“Option three? I will be by your side; I will go to every doctor appointment, I will take child birthing classes with you, I will be in the delivery room letting you hold my forearm – so you don't break my fingers -”  Santana grinned again, “and, after you hold your child for the first time, I will hold him or her next as their other mother if you'll let me. I will move you to New York or me to Cambridge. You won't do it alone.”

Santana looked at Brittany seriously. “You are the only one who can decide what you're going to do but you aren't alone in making the decision. Does that make sense?”

Brittany nodded and wiped a tear off her cheek. “You'd have really done that back then?”

Santana looks into her beautiful ocean blue eyes. “Yes. Britt, I was really lost without you. Maybe it would have been selfish, I don't know, but helping you would have given me something of a purpose, some kind of direction. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad this is where we ended up but you won't be alone with any big decision you have to make. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere.” Santana grinned at her. “Besides, for all we know someone could see some video of us on youtube or something and Beyonce or Lady Gaga will find out and they'll want you to be a back-up dancer for them.”

Brittany laughs. “I don't think that's going to happen.”

Santana just shrugs. “It could. Totally. And, yeah, you'd have to make the decision but that doesn't mean I won't be standing next to you as your sounding board to help you come to the best decision for you.”

“That would separate us, though. We didn't do so well with long distance.” Brittany frowned at the thought.

“No. But we're also not the same people we were almost two years ago. The circumstances are different. It would be easy for me to … I dunno … follow the tour if we wanted that. Or just fly somewhere for a couple of days. Distance isn't going to be a problem for us, Britt, not this time. I promise you that. Okay?”

Brittany curled into Santana, who wrapped her up in a tight hug.

“Britt … if you spend all this time worrying about what might happen in a month or two or five, you're going to miss out on everything that's happening now.” She kissed the top of Brittany's head. “I'm the worrier; the fretter. You're the live in the now … so live in the now. This decision may be really minor. Yes, life-changing but … you kissing me in the choir room a year ago was a minor decision; spur of the moment. And … it ended up being life-changing.”

Brittany pulled back and nodded. “You're right.” She smiled at Santana. “When did you become the rational one?”

Santana laughed and leaned forward, kissing her softly.

“Come on, we don't have any shows for the next three days; let's cuddle and take a nap, drag Mercedes out for a late dinner and grill her about what the psychic told her, then come back and cuddle and watch a movie until we fall back to sleep.”

Brittany smiled. “I like that idea.”

They pulled the blankets down and got into bed, Santana pulling Brittany close and tucking Brittany's head under her chin. 

“Thank you, San,” she whispered softly.

Santana kissed the top of Brittany's head.

“Always.”

Chapter Text

After New Mexico, they had stops in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma before going into Kansas. Four shows in Witchita then six in Kansas City, Kansas.

They really hadn't had much time off since the three days in early July so when they got into Kansas City early in the afternoon of the seventeenth, all three girls were beyond thrilled that the tour had booked hotel rooms. That meant real beds and real showers.

They'd decided to order in pizza and pig out on vending machine snack foods and sodas while watching movies. Mercedes and Santana were sitting in Santana and Brittany's room while Brittany was in the shower. They got a bunch of change and singles together and Santana grabbed the ice bucket and a re-usable shopping bag. She was wearing her glasses, a pair of flannel pajama pants, and one of Britt's hoodies; she slipped on her sneakers and walked down the hall to the vending area while Mercedes called in their pizza order.

She filled the bucket with ice and put it in the bottom of the bag. She bought six sodas; two root beer for Mercedes, two orange for Britt, and two diet colas for herself and put those in the bottom of the bag next to the ice. She bought several bags of chips (a variety of flavors/kinds) and popcorn and tossed those in the bag as well.

She had set the bag down just outside the doorway and was contemplating the “sweet” selection when someone else entered the area. Santana looked up and nodded a hello to … Caleb … that was his name … before turning back to make her selections.

“So, Santana, I was thinking,” Santana frowned and looked over at him, “my roommate is out for the night. I thought maybe you'd like to join me in my room so we could get to know each other a little better.” His smarmy grin turned Santana's stomach. She thought everyone knew she was with Brittany; what the fuck was this guy thinking?

“Uh, no, thanks. I'm good.” She once again turned back to the vending machine, hoping that would put an end to the conversation.

It didn't.

“Oh, come on, don't be like that.” He walked up behind her and slid his hands down her biceps, leaning down to kiss her neck. “You know you want me; you've been flirting with me for weeks, practically eye-fucking me.”

Santana didn't think; she reacted. She snapped her head back, catching him in the side of the face while stepping backward onto his instep. Her elbow came up and caught him square in the solar plexus causing him to step back and double over trying to catch his breath.

“No means no, asshole. I don't even fucking know who the fuck you are mother fucking son-of-a-bitch.” She spat at him.

“Fucking bitch,” he wheezed out before backhanding her across the face, causing her glasses to go flying, and stalking toward her. 

She swung her Sue Sylvester trained leg up and nailed him in the crotch. The force of it had him doubling over and falling to the floor, vomiting.

She was just about to kick him in the face when she felt strong arms around her and heard Brittany's voice in her ear.

“Shhh, baby, he's down.”

“Lemme go, Britt, I'm going to kill that mother fucker!”

Caleb was struggling to get up. “You're a fucking dyke? All this time you've just been teasing me? Playing me. Fucking bitch!” He tried to move toward her when he was stopped by Mercedes' hand on his chest.

“Back off! What in the hell is your problem?”

“Fucking dyke's been flirting with me for WEEKS; I finally get her alone and she acts like she doesn't even fucking know me!”

“Because I don't, asshole!”

“Bullshit! Fucking cock-tease!”

“Caleb, shut up.” Brittany didn't raise her voice. “You're a self-centered idiot. If you weren't so self-absorbed you'd have known – like everyone else on the tour – that Santana and I are together. I dance next to you; she wasn't flirting with you, she was flirting with me.”

“You're fired, Caleb. Get your stuff and get the hell out of here.”

“You can't fire me! I have a contract!”

“Wanna bet? What do you think the label is going to want to deal with – buying out your contract or dealing with a lawsuit for a toxic, hostile, unsafe work environment?” Mercedes quirked a brow at him, arms crossed over her chest.

“What the hell is going on?” Chandler, the tour manager had just come down the hall.

Before anyone had time to answer, the elevator opened and two of the hotel's security guards came out and walked intently toward the group. They were both fit, probably in their early thirties; both dark haired and eyed, they almost looked like brothers. They grabbed Caleb's arms and plasti-cuffed them behind his back.

“Let me go! What the fuck?!”

The guards ignored him and looked at Santana, who had relaxed back into Brittany's arms. Her face stung but she didn't think she was bleeding; she would, however, have a bruise later.

“Ma'am, do you want to press charges? We have the whole thing on video,” one of the guards said, pointing to the camera in the corner of the vending area.

“Damn right I do.” Santana answered. She was pissed. What the actual fuck?

“The police are on their way. You'll have to give a statement.”

Santana nodded. “Do I need to come downstairs or will they come up?”

“We'll take him down and send the police up to your room to talk to you.”

“Room 1412.”

The guards nodded and started walking back towards the elevator with Caleb between them.

“You fucking bitch! I'm going to kill you!”

“Take a number, get in line,” Santana muttered under her breath.

“Will someone please tell me what happened?” Chandler looked both irritated and perplexed.

“Honestly? I have no fucking clue,” Santana said and told the three of them what had happened. “If Britt hadn't grabbed me, I'd have probably kicked the shit out of him. I thought every knew Britt and I were together so I have no fucking idea what the fuck he was thinking.”

“I heard you yell when we opened the door to get the pizza so we came to see what was going on. I'm glad we did.” She tightened her hold on Santana.

“Chandler, if he stays on this tour I'm out.” Santana said. “I'm not going to feel safe with him around.”

“That's me out, too. Where Santana goes, I go.” Britt added.

“I told him he was fired,” Mercedes said, “maybe I don't have that authority but I'm telling you if he stays, I'm going with Brittany and Santana and the label can deal with the lawsuit Santana will bring.”

Chandler ran a hand through his hair. “Obviously, we can't keep him on the tour.” He shook his head. “I'll call the label and find out what they want to do. Are you three okay?  I mean, I'm a little stunned at the moment but, Santana, do you need a doctor?”

Santana shook her head. “I'll need to ice my cheek and I'll probably need a little more cover-up tomorrow but, otherwise, I'm fine.”

“I hate to even ask but I know the label will; are you going to sue?”

Santana shook her head. “No. It's not the label's fault and as long as he's off the tour I don't see any reason to make a bigger deal out of it.”

Chandler nodded. “Okay, let me call them and I'll let you know what they say. I'll have Dennis pack up Caleb's stuff and we'll ship it back to his home address.” He turned to walk away before turning back. “Santana? I'm sorry this happened and I'm glad you're okay. If you need anything, please let me know.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

xoxoxoxoxoxo

When they got back to their room, Santana started pacing and muttering in Spanish. Brittany let her go for a few minutes then stood up and pulled Santana into her arms.

“It's over, honey, you're okay.” She murmured softly.

Santana pulled back a bit and looked at Brittany. “Why does this keep happening? What am I doing wrong?”

“Hey,” Brittany cupped Santana's face gently, “this wasn't your fault, you didn't do anything wrong. Just like in Lesbos. You are not responsible for the actions of other people. You told him no. That should have been the end of it.”

“Wait, hold up, keep happening?” Mercedes looked concerned. “This has happened before?”

Brittany led Santana to the bed and sat down; Santana immediately curled into Brittany's side as Brittany wrapped a protective arm around her.

“When we were in Lesbos, this woman became fixated on Santana. We'd never seen her before, let alone talked to her. She decided that she was a better match for Santana and assaulted her.” Brittany kissed the top of Santana's head. “You dealt with it much better this time,” she smiled.

Santana laughed. “She caught me off guard. It's kind of sad but I'm really never “off-guard” with a guy; especially one I don't know who's coming on to me. I can't say I was ready for him to do what he did but I wasn't not ready, either.”

Mercedes shook her head. “You sure you're okay?”

Santana nodded. “Yeah. And after we talk to the police, we're going to watch something stupid funny and eat junk food. Oh, I left the bag down by the vending machines.”

“I'll go grab it,” Mercedes said.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

After talking to the police the girls settled down and watched some “stupid funny” movies. They ate pizza and junk food and talked throughout the movies.

By the time Mercedes went back to her own room, Santana was feeling like herself again.

They got ready for bed and slipped beneath the sheets.

“How are you really?” Brittany asked as she wrapped her arms around Santana and tucked Santana's head under her chin.

“Honestly? I'm fine. Maybe I shouldn't be but … yeah, I am.”

“Good. Hey … do you remember what the psychic said about 'a small problem ahead'? You think this was it?”

Santana thought for a moment. “Yeah, she told me something about a dark-haired man being the cause of the trouble and to lean on you.” Santana chuckled. “I didn't even remember that but, I did let you help me. I seriously wanted to kick his face in, Britt.”

“I know you did, I could feel the anger coming off you.”

“But then you held me and whispered in my ear and … it just kind of melted away.” Santana lifted her head and kissed the underside of Brittany's jaw. “You're amazing. You always just know what I need.”

Brittany giggled and leaned down to capture Santana's lips in a gentle kiss. “I told you … the world's foremost expert in the field of Santana Lopez.”

Santana smiled. “I love you, Britt.”

“I love you, too. Always.”

Chapter Text

After leaving Kansas City, the tour went through St. Louis, Missouri, Springfield and Bloomington Illinois, and finished up with seven days in Chicago, Illinois.

In Chicago, the label again paid for hotel rooms to give them all a bit of a break; they hadn't really had one since Kansas City.

The label backed Santana one hundred percent; she didn't have to worry about Caleb being back on the tour even if he made bail. She'd have to go back to testify (along with Mercedes and Brittany) but, otherwise, that problem was solved.

She was still hunting for the perfect ring. Santana wasn't discouraged but she did wonder if she was being too picky and what if she hadn't found one by the time they got back to Lima? Mercedes reminded her that they still had a lot of places to stop and that Lima actually did have jewelry stores. Plus, they were in Chicago, and they'd be passing through a number of big cities; Santana was bound to find the perfect ring before they got back to Lima. Unfortunately, despite being in a large city, they didn't really have a lot of free time without Brittany, so they didn't get a chance to really explore for jewelry stores.  Although, while they were wandering around, Santana did do some surreptitious window shopping; she figured if she saw something, she could ask Mercedes to go back and take a look. 

They had shows almost every day while in Chicago but they had August 4th free, so they planned to spend the day letting Mike Chang play tour guide.

Mike took them on a whirlwind tour; The Art Institute of Chicago, which caused Santana to geek out about Ferris Bueller's Day Off, much to the amusement of her friends.

“Satan, your bad-ass reputation is seriously declining.” Mercedes laughed. 

Santana just glared at her causing Mercedes and Mike to laugh harder. Brittany tried to muffle her giggles but, by the look Santana shot her, she failed.

From there they went to The Chicago Cultural Center and marveled at the largest Tiffany stained-glass dome in the world. While they were there, they wandered around looking at some art exhibits; there was a collection of Annie Leibovitz photos that fascinated Brittany. Then they caught a short dance recital and a collection of short films.

They stopped for lunch around one o'clock at a little cafe before moving on to the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. They really enjoyed wandering the city and taking in the sites with Mike; he was a nice guy and they all enjoyed his company.

Since they spent most of the day at the Aquarium and Planetarium, Mike insisted that they have dinner and then finish the day at the Buckingham Fountain when it was all lit up.

They thoroughly enjoyed the day and were a little bummed they had to say goodbye to Mike at the end of it but promised to get together again when they were all back in Lima.

Chapter Text

After leaving Chicago, they traveled into Indiana with shows in South Bend and Terra Haute. Then it was on to Louisville, Kentucky which left Santana with mixed feelings; she didn't have any particularly good memories of her time in Louisville and, with seven shows, she was hoping she didn't see anyone she knew. On the other hand, she was in a much better place now and, if she did run into someone, she was happy and in love. Not to mention, she was doing something she felt like she was born to do, loved doing, and was happy doing instead of feeling the abject misery she had felt the last time she was here.

Once again, the schedule had been grueling and Santana was lying in her hotel room with her arm over her eyes when Brittany came in from rehearsal. The label had hired two new dancers to replace Caleb and they just weren't getting it. Brittany was completely frustrated and, looking at Santana, she was also worried that Santana had been pulling away from her and couldn't help but wonder if that big decision was coming. What if Santana knew what the decision was and was pulling away so that the decision would be easier for Brittany?

“Hey.”

“Hi,” Santana didn't move her arm.

“You okay?”

“Headache. I think it's exhaustion. Come nap with me?”

Brittany smiled. And then she said something like that. “I need a shower. When I come out I will absolutely nap with you.”

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Twenty minutes later, Britt came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel; Santana was lying in the exact same spot. Brittany changed into a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and then grabbed two ibuprofen. She moved to the bed and sat next to Santana.

“Here, take these.” She offered Santana the ibuprofen and the bottle of water that was sitting on the nightstand.

Santana sat up and smiled wanly. “Thanks,” she said, taking the meds and swallowing them down.

Brittany put the back of her hand to Santana's forehead, checking for fever. “You're not warm.”

Santana gingerly shook her head. “I really think it's just exhaustion. Lie down with me? Hopefully the ibuprofen and a nap will help then we can go grab some dinner later.”

Brittany nodded and lied down next to Santana, pulling Santana toward her. Brittany loved that she and Santana shared 'big spoon' duties. There were times she needed to be held and times when Santana did; they simply did what felt right at the moment. Right now, Santana didn't feel well so Brittany wrapped her up and tucked Santana's head under her chin.

“Rest, angel,” she whispered, kissing the top of Santana's head. Hopefully, Santana would feel better when she woke up and the two of them could talk.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Three hours later, they returned from dinner and Santana seemed to be feeling much better.

“Britt? Do you wanna stay in and watch a movie or do you wanna grab Mercedes and maybe go out and hit a club or see a movie out?” Santana looked at Brittany.

Brittany bit her bottom lip. “Um … do you think … maybe we could talk?”

Santana's face turned serious. “Of course.” She took Brittany by the hand and led her to the bed. She tucked one leg underneath her and let the other rest on the floor.

Brittany mirrored her actions and took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves.

“Hey, look at me,” Santana waited until Brittany looked at her, “whatever it is, we'll work it out, I promise.” She extended her pinky and Brittany linked hers with it, hoping Santana could keep that promise; hoping that whatever was going on wasn't something that was going to tear them apart. 

Brittany bit her bottom lip. “Are you … are you bored with me? Or … getting tired of me?”

Santana's jaw dropped as she stared at Brittany. She shook her head vehemently. “What? Why … NO! God, no, Britt, never. Why would you ask that? Why … why are you even thinking that? What did I do?” Santana rambled, almost panicky.

Brittany did what came naturally; she took Santana's hands in hers and ran her thumbs over the inside of Santana's wrists to calm her. Once Santana had calmed down, Brittany looked her in the eyes.

“It's just that … you used to love watching me dance and now you disappear with Mercedes after you finish your rehearsal.”

Santana took a deep breath, her whole demeanor softening. “Britt …” her voice was soft, “I love watching you dance. You. But these new Fred Astaire wannabes with two left feet? It's painful. I watch you and you get twelve steps in and the choreographer has to call a stop because they already messed up. And you're so professional. Like, if I didn't know you, I'd think you were fine but I can see the frustration in your eyes and I wanna go all Lima Heights on those two. I just don't think that would be a good idea.” She smiled at Brittany. “Tired of you? Bored with you? Never.” She shook her head.

“There are times when I look at you, you know, and I wonder how I got so lucky. You could have chosen anyone but you chose me. Sometimes, it's silly but, I wish vampires were real so that I could spend eternity with you because seventy or eighty more years just doesn't seem like enough time.”

“Santana …” the blush rose in Brittany's cheeks.

“Britt, I love you. You are my best friend, my girlfriend, my confidante, my lover, my partner … my everything.” Santana closes her eyes for a moment then opens them and look at Brittany.

Her voice, soft and sweet, starts:

I could stay awake just to hear you breathin'
Watch you smile while you are sleepin'
While you're far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Where every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

Don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you 
The sweetest dream would never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

Lying close to you, feelin' your heart beating
And I'm wonderin' what you're dreamin'
Wonderin' if it's me you're seein'
Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together
And I just wanna stay with you
In this moment forever
Forever and ever

I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream would never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

I don't wanna miss one smile
I don't wanna miss one kiss
Well, I just wanna be with you
Right here with you, just like this
I just wanna hold you close
I feel your heart so close to mine
And just stay here in this moment
For all the rest of time

Don't wanna close my eyes
Don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you 
The sweetest dream would never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

“Britt …” Santana said quietly when she finished the song, “loving you is the smartest, best thing I've ever done and I'm sorry that you thought, even for a moment, that you were less than everything to me.”

Santana leaned forward and gently cupped Brittany's face, thumbing away the tears that slid down Britt's cheeks, then leaned further in to capture Brittany's lips in a gentle kiss.

Brittany smiles at her girl when she pulls away. This girl. This amazing, wonderful girl.  “You're my everything, too, Santana.”

Santana smiles at her and stands up, moving to lie on the other side of the bed.

“Come here,” she beckons Brittany forward and Brittany is quick to comply.

Santana kisses the top of Brittany's head and holds her close; Brittany's arm draped around Santana's waist, her head listening to Santana's steady heartbeat. They lie like that for a long while, just … being.

Santana tips Brittany's chin up and kisses her softly, deepening it when Brittany tilts her head. She swipes her tongue across Brittany's lower lip and Brittany immediately grants her access. Brittany moans low in her throat as she feels her arousal building.

Without breaking the kiss, Santana straddles Brittany and deepens the kiss further, mapping the inside of Brittany's mouth; their tongues dancing, dueling, dancing again.

Santana pulls back and looks deep into Brittany's eyes. “I love you, Brittany S. Pierce. Always.”

They spend the rest of the night showing each other just how much.

Chapter Text

The next month was a blur: shows in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York.

They were in Scranton Pennsylvania on September third, for Santana's birthday, and Brittany googled to find something fun to do since they actually had the third off. There wasn't a lot that interested her or that she thought would interest Santana. They ended up at the Electric City Aquarium & Reptile Den. Brittany invited Mercedes so the three of them went and actually had a really good time; it was definitely better than she'd thought it would be and Santana seemed to enjoy it as well. 

They enjoyed a nice dinner and walked around the town for a bit before returning to the buses. Mercedes' gift to Santana was to stay in one of the other buses with some of the female crew for the night. Santana and Brittany both appreciated that gift … all night and into the early morning hours.

After five shows in Binghamton, they were off to Buffalo for their eight day/eight show stop. They got in late on the eighth, after their evening show in Binghamton. They were booked into a small hotel just south of the city of Buffalo but fairly close to one of the malls they were performing at. They were exhausted and crashed immediately; their first show was the following evening and they needed the rest.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

They spent every day in Buffalo sight-seeing. After their performances, between them, before them; Brittany filled every spare moment they had with activities.

On the fourteenth, Brittany woke up achy with a slightly sore throat. Thankfully, they had the day off but had two shows on the fifteenth. She pouted when she realized they couldn't do all the things she had planned for their only day off. She didn't have a fever but Santana dragged Mercedes to the nearest grocery store to find stuff to knock whatever this was out of Britt; they also needed to restock the cupboards on the bus since they hadn't really had a chance to do that.

When they got back, Britt was sleeping; Santana hated to wake her up but wanted to get some of the medicine into her. Britt was bleary eyed and groggy but took the proffered little cup of liquid and downed it with a grimace.

“That should knock you out for about four to six hours Britt. We bought soup. Is there anything else you want?” Santana fussed over her.

Brittany shook her head no. “Wait. Maybe some tea? But, like, chamomile or lemon soother? Not black tea.”

Santana nodded. “Yeah. We'll go get that.” She kissed the blonde's forehead. “You get some rest, we'll be back soon.”

Santana dragged a protesting Mercedes off the bus. “Girl, we just got back from the grocery store. You didn't think to ask her if she needed something before we went?”

Santana looked at her and rolled her eyes. “Did you not see the box of lemon soother tea? Of course I knew she'd want that. She's also going to want the ice pops and the dots I bought. I know my girl's comfort stuff. There are three jewelry stores in the mall we performed in yesterday and the day before and a little mom and pop store around the corner from here.”

“Ohhhh, gotcha … let's go, then.”

The mall proved to be a bust; from what Santana could tell, the mall was dying out. There were empty storefronts. Like, the big ones, there was no Macy's or Kohl's or even a Sears. The jewelry stores didn't have what she was looking for and what they did have seemed ridiculously over-priced. 

“Okay. One more stop.” She sighed. 'Madame Carmela' had told her she'd find what she was looking for in Buffalo so she'd had her fingers crossed, hoping that meant she'd find the ring here.

The small storefront shop had a cozy feel to it. The glass cases all sparkled and were full of beautiful pieces. Santana drifted over to one when a woman, probably in her mid forties with light brown hair, came out from the back.

“Hi. I'm Renee,” she smiled softly. 

Santana was surprised; it wasn't one of those big fake smiles that most salespeople have on when they want you to trust them and spend a lot of money.

“How can I help you ladies today?”

Santana sighed. “I'm looking for a diamond solitaire. Probably a carat, in a platinum band. I would really like a pale blue diamond but not an aquamarine. Simple setting.”

Renee nodded her understanding and moved to a case at the far end of the shop, motioning for Santana to follow. Once there, she unlocked the case and pulled out a tray of solitaire diamond rings. There were fifteen rings on the tray but Santana's eye was immediately drawn to the one three over and one down from the left hand side.

“Oh, girl,” Mercedes said, “that's the one.” She pointed to the one that Santana's eye had been drawn to.

“Can I see that one?”

Renee nodded and slipped it out of the tray, handing it to Santana.  “It's an excellent choice. One point two five carats, ideal cut, flawless, and fancy light blue in color, set in a platinum band.”

Santana nodded and held it to the light, turning it this way and that. She pulled out her wallet and put it on the counter.

“I want to take it to the window; that's got my ID and all my credit cards in it so you don't think I'm trying to walk out the door.”

Renee actually chuckled as she nodded.

Santana moved to the front window to look at the ring in the natural light. It was perfect; it reflected the light brilliantly. She slipped it on her finger; it was slightly loose so it should fit Britt perfectly. She walked back and handed the ring back to Renee. “What's the size?”

“Seven and half.”

“Perfect. I'll take it. Um, any chance it can be engraved?” 

Renee nodded. “It'll take about twenty minutes. I can do it now, no charge.” She smiled brightly at Santana.

“Great. Just one word … Always.”

Renee nodded and went into the back; Mercedes and Santana drifted around the store, looking at the bling. Santana smiled to herself. She finally found it; the perfect ring for her perfect girl.

Twenty minutes later, Renee came back and showed Santana the engraving. She had polished the ring and the stone and it gleamed in the store's lights.

“Perfect.” She smiled happily.

She opened her wallet and extracted the card connected to her trust fund. She never used that card; that was her rainy day/buy a house/start a family money. But. But this was the start of all of that. The blue diamond was rare, she knew that. She knew that it was going to be more expensive. It hadn't been a deal breaker but it meant eternity, truth, and devotion; she felt all that and more for Britt and she wanted her to have a ring that reflected that. 

“With tax it comes to seven thousand, four-hundred, twenty-eight dollars. Did you want to put a down payment on the card?”

Mercedes looked at her. “Girl …” 

Santana shook her head. “No. I need to take it with me.” She laughed a little. “We're only in town for two more days and it's taken me months to find it.” She was giddy. “It's perfect. Just like Britt.”

Mercedes shook her head and laughed as Renee rang up the purchase and got all the paperwork together.

“Never thought I'd see the day when Santana Lopez finally went completely soft.”

Santana didn't even have it in her to glare at the other girl. “Only for Britt, Mercedes.” She looked at Mercedes and raised an eyebrow. “And you'd best not forget that.”

Mercedes grinned as Renee put down the paperwork, explaining the guarantee and how to register the diamond. Santana signed everything and grinned as Renee put the ring into a red velvet box and slipped that into a small, black, velvet bag. 

She smiled at Santana. “Congratulations. She's a very lucky lady.”

Santana smiled broadly; dimples and crinkly eyes on full display. “If she says yes, I'll be the lucky one.” 

They thanked Renee and left the store; Santana's smile still broad. She felt settled; not so frenetic now that she had the ring.

She handed Mercedes the bag. “'Cedes, I need to trust you with this so Brittany doesn't find it in my bag. She's always going through them looking for stuff. So … can you?”

Mercedes smiled. “Girl, I got you. When you planning on doing this?”

“Not sure. Probably after the tour. Maybe when we get back to Lima. If I can figure out a way to do it in the choir room …”

Mercedes nodded her understanding. It may not have been exactly where their story started but it was probably the most important chapter to date.

Chapter Text

After leaving Buffalo, they were in the downhill stretch of the tour; Ohio. Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and, finally, Dayton.

They left Cincinnati on the morning of September twenty-seventh and had the day off when they reached Dayton a little before noon.

“Britt? You know what we should do?”

Brittany looked up from her laptop where she had been editing some photos. “Go to Jake's?” 

Santana grinned and nodded. “Go to Jake's. Let's invite everyone. We'll get Mercedes, the dancers, the crew, the drivers and we'll take over for the night.”

Brittany grinned back at her. “Sounds good.”

“What sounds good?” Mercedes asked as she came back onto the bus.

“There's this great restaurant not too far from here called Jake's Seafood & Steak. We were gonna invite everyone out tonight. Our treat.”

Mercedes smiled and nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“You're gonna love it, Mercedes!” Brittany grinned.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

“Girl, this place does not look like my kind of place.” Mercedes eyed the exterior of Jake's.

Santana laughed and pulled open the right hand door.

The whole crew had joined them; six dancers, six crew members, three bus drivers, the tour manager and his assistant, and the three of them. Santana was sure Jake's could accommodate them.

“Hi! Welcome to Jake's! How many tonight?” Stacie was hostessing again and her voice was still too chipper.

“Hi, Stacie,” Brittany smiled.

“Oh, hey! I remember y'all! By the dance floor, right?”

Brittany nodded. “There's twenty of us tonight.”

“Is Gilda here tonight?” Santana asked. She had, unbeknownst to Brittany (and to Brittany's utter mortification), packed two souvenir tote bags with Brittany's design on them full of swag into her luggage when she saw they'd be near Dayton on the tour. 

“Sure is! I'll seat y'all in her section.” Stacie grabbed the menus and led them to the tables by the dance floor. She grabbed a couple of busboys and they arranged six tables together lining the dance floor.

“Ooooh, San! Jake added a karaoke machine!” Brittany pointed out the machine that was just slightly to the left of the old-style bubble jukebox.

“Sweet. Maybe we can do some fun singing and free-style dancing; let loose for the night.”

Once Stacie got them all seated, she took their drink orders and let them know that Gilda would be right over.

“Hey, folks!” Santana raised her voice so as to be heard above the din. Once everyone had quieted down, she continued, “Tonight's on me, Brittany, and Mercedes as a thank you for all your hard work during the tour. We really appreciate everything you've done.” The group all shouted out their “whoo-hoos” and “thank-yous” before settling back down to their conversations.

“Girl … you know I can't …”

“Mercedes, me and Britt, we got this,” Santana cut her off, “but we wanted to include you.”

“But …”

“Mercedes,” Brittany interrupted this time, “we don't want to get all the glory or credit or whatever. We want them to know you appreciate them, too. We want you to know we appreciate you. You really stuck your neck out for Santana … and me, too. We're really grateful and we want to show our appreciation. Just take it, okay?”

Mercedes shook her head. “Okay. Thank you.” She smiled broadly at the two other women.

They were interrupted when a plump woman, in her mid-forties with brown hair shot through with gray, and laugh lines around her eyes set a tray down near their table and started handing drinks around.

“Gilda!” Brittany jumped up and, making sure the woman wasn't holding any of their drinks, wrapped her in a big hug.

“Well, if it isn't two of my favorite customers! And you brought quite a crew with you. Can I take the fact that you're here together means you're 'on' again?” Her eyes twinkled merrily as she smiled at the two of them.

Santana grinned and stood up, hugging the older woman as well. “We've been doing a bit of touring with this one,” she pointed to Mercedes, “Mercedes, this is Gilda; Gilda, this is our friend Mercedes. We've been touring for her album.” She bit her lower lip. “And, yes, Britt and I are 'on' again. Pretty sure it's permanent this time.” 

“Oh, that's wonderful! I'm happy for you ladies! A tour? That sounds like a lot of fun! Nice to meet you, Mercedes.” Gilda and two other servers finished distributing the drinks.

“Yeah, you too,” Mercedes smiled.

“You folks know what you want or you need a few minutes?”

“Not sure about the rest of them but we're going to start with the seafood stuffed mushrooms, two orders. Not sure what our main courses are yet.” Santana said.

Gilda nodded and jotted it down. “Okay, I'll get that right in for you,” she said, moving down the tables.

Once the appetizers had been served and dinner orders had been taken, Santana stopped Gilda for a moment and handed her one of the swag bags.

“What's this for?” Gilda smiled as she took the bag.

“Britt and I did a little traveling throughout Europe last summer and Britt created that design. A French company licensed it and sent us a bunch of stuff. We wanted to give you and Jake some of it. Is he here?”

“Well, thank you! This is amazing, Brittany!” Brittany blushed at Gilda's compliment. “He is. I'll send him over when he's done on the phone.” Gilda patted Brittany on the shoulder and went off to put in their orders.

They were half-way through their meals when a big man with bulging biceps, a shaved head and piercing blue eyes came over to their table.

“Ladies! So good to see you again!”

“Jake!” Brittany bounced up and hugged the man. 

Jake laughed as he hugged her back. “Good to see you, too, darlin'.” He smiled at  Santana. “How are you both?”

“We're doing good. Our tour brought us to Dayton so we figured where better to have a meal than the best restaurant in the area.” Santana grinned and stood up, briefly hugging the big man.

“Glad you did. Who're all your friends?”

“This is our friend, Mercedes. We've been touring to promote her album.” Jake shook Mercedes' hand then Santana introduced him to everyone else. She had made a point of getting to know everyone after The Caleb Encounter (yet another Agatha Christie-esque novel name to add to the list, she thought with an internal eyeroll). She then handed Jake the swag bag and explained its origins.

“Well, this is really something! Thank you, ladies. Brittany, I am impressed. This is some really nice art-work.”

Brittany blushed, “Thanks, Jake.”

They talked for a few more moments before Jake moved off to talk to a few other patrons, leaving them to finish their meals.

Gilda stopped by to check on them. “Any chance you ladies will be entertaining us again tonight?” She smiled at them.

“What do you say, Aretha? You sing it, Britt and I'll dance it out. Whitney's Dance With Somebody?”

“Oh, you are on.”

Mercedes moved over to the karaoke machine and dialed up the song as Santana and Brittany stood on the dance floor waiting. Once Mercedes started singing, the other dancers got up and joined Santana and Brittany; it didn't take long until all of them were moving in sync.

They spent several hours singing, dancing, eating, drinking, and generally having fun. When they finally decided to call it a night it was almost eleven and they were all happy but tired. Santana asked Gilda for the bill, paid it (adding a generous tip), and said good night to Gilda and Jake; promising they'd be by again before they left Ohio.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

They had just gotten onto the bus when Mercedes' phone rang.

“It's almost midnight. Who in the …” she looked at the caller ID, “Rachel.”

Santana rolled her eyes and Brittany grimaced and stuck out her tongue as Mercedes answered the phone.

“Hi, Rachel. It's kind of late, what's up?”

“Mercedes! Hello! I'm so glad you answered. I don't know if you heard but my career suffered a bit of a setback and I am in Lima to try and get back on my feet and plan my next move. I decided, while I was here, to try and get the Glee Club up and running again. Kurt is here to help but we've run into a few difficulties and it occurred to me; who better to help get it up and running again than the original glee members. So I was hoping, I know your tour is almost at an end, that you and Santana and Brittany would be willing to come to Lima for a few days to help us with recruitment and whatnot.”

“Hi Rach,” Santana said, “Britt and I will be in Lima on the second or third; we're going to be in Lima while we decide what we want to do next. So, yeah,” she looked at Brittany, who just rolled her eyes, “we'll be able to give you a hand while we're in town.”

“Oh, excellent! Thank you so much. Mercedes?”

“Yeah. I'll be in Lima for a couple of days before I have to fly back to L.A. so, yeah, I guess I can help you out too.”

“Thank you! Oh, this will be so much fun and I am so looking forward to seeing you all again! I've also called Quinn who promised to talk to Puck. Sam, of course, is here assisting Coach Beiste. I also left messages for Tina and Artie and hope to hear back from them.”

“Okay, Rachel, it's late and we're tired and have an early performance tomorrow so we'll be in touch and let you know when we're definitely going to be back in Lima.”

“Excellent! Thank …” Mercedes hung up before Rachel could start rambling again.

“Seriously, that girl, I love her but she takes fifty words to say what normal people could say in ten.”

“Right? My career tanked, I'm in Lima licking my wounds, can you help me get the glee club up and running again.” Santana shook her head. Brittany snorted a laugh.

“Girl, come on, be nice.”

“Oh. That was nice. I mean, really? I could have mentioned how stupid and self-absorbed she was for ditching 'her dream' of Broadway not even three months after opening night for what was, quite probably, the worst television show of all time.”

Mercedes just shook her head. “Anyway, I'm going to bed. See you two in the morning.”

Mercedes went into the bathroom while Brittany and Santana went into their room on the bus.

“Hey, you okay with helping her?” Santana asked Brittany.

Brittany shrugged. “I mean, I guess. I don't like her; I haven't liked her for years and the way she treated you at the loft,” Brittany shook her head, “but, the glee club was really great for us and I guess helping to get it going again to maybe help other kids like we were isn't a bad thing.” 

Santana smiled. “Honestly? Rachel may have been kind of a jerk to me but it all worked out okay in the end.” They had changed and were sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for Mercedes to finish in the bathroom. Santana leaned forward and gave Brittany a peck on the lips. “I ended up with you. If I'd have stayed as her understudy, I'd have been the one who took over when she went on her wild fame chase to L.A.. I wouldn't trade what I've got with you for anything in the world; stardom included.”

Brittany beamed at her. “Yeah. When you put it like that … it did all work out for the best. For me, too. You, however, are entirely too forgiving.”

“Bathroom's free!”

“Come on. Bedtime.”

Brittany nodded tiredly and followed Santana into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Chapter Text

They arrived in Lima late in the evening on October second. They had agreed to meet Rachel in the auditorium the following morning to surprise Kurt and decide how to best approach the problem at hand.

The fact was not one of them knew what the hell they were doing.

And yet.

By the time the bonfire started on Saturday, they had managed to recruit four members. It wasn't enough to compete. But it was a start.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Brittany walked into the bedroom, hair still damp from her shower, and smiled at a sleeping Santana; she was sitting up, glasses sliding down her nose, tablet loose in limp hands. Brittany slid the glasses off Santana's face and removed the tablet, setting both on the nightstand.

“Honey, wake up.” She gently stroked Santana's cheek.

Santana's head snapped up. “Huh? What? What's going on?”

“You fell asleep reading. Come on, lie down, get comfy.”

Santana yawned and slid down until she was lying flat. Brittany turned the overhead light off and made her way back to the bed, slipping in next to Santana. Santana turned toward her and kissed her softly. 

“Sorry, Britt, didn't realize how tired I was.”

Brittany smiled and kissed her back. “It's been a long couple of days. Courtney wants to go to the Motocross track in Delphos tomorrow. We're gonna leave around seven.”

Santana groaned and Brittany laughed. “I'm just letting you know; you don't have to come with us. I just didn't want you to wake up to an empty house.”

“Oh. Thank you. Where are your parents? Did you tell me?”

Brittany shook her head. “No, they left a note saying they were going to Columbus for a couple of days and to drop Court off at Jessica's tomorrow evening. We'll probably get back from Delphos around two or three, she can shower at the track then I'll just drop her off on the way back.”

“What are they in Columbus for?”

Brittany shrugged. “Dunno. The note didn't say and mom didn't pick up the phone.”

Santana pulled her close. “You okay?”

“I just … I hate when they do this. I know Court'll be fine at Jess' but … damn … they're her parents they shouldn't just dump her off without any explanation. I mean, I guess I'm glad they didn't just take off without making arrangements for Court but they didn't talk to me or let me know. We could handle Courtney for a couple of days. Sometimes … I just wonder if they even think about me at all.”

“Oh, sweetie. We didn't really give them a timeline of how long we're in Lima for or what our plans were … maybe they just didn't want to put you on the spot or take advantage of us or whatever.”

“Maybe. A conversation would have been nice.”

“I love them … but … parental isn't the first word that comes to mind when I think of Mama and Papa P.” Santana gave Brittany a sympathetic look. “Grams and I talked about it at Thanksgiving last year. They love you, you know that. Your mom just never knew what being a mother meant and your dad just kind of trails along in her wake accepting that what she's doing must be the right thing to do.”

Brittany nodded. “I love them. Sometimes, though, I wish I had parents instead of friends.”

Santana cuddled her close. “We both could have done worse.” She paused, considering. “Could have done better.”

They were silent for a few moments and Santana thought Brittany had fallen asleep until she asked, almost inaudibly, “Promise me something?”

“Anything.”

“Promise me … we'll do better.”

“I promise.” Santana knew they hadn't really talked about having kids. Hadn't had a serious discussion about them but she knew Brittany wanted them and she wanted them with Brittany.

Brittany sighed softly in contentment and slipped off to sleep safe in Santana's arms.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Brittany kissed Santana gently and smiled as the Latina grumbled. “Just wanted to let you know we were leaving. I love you and I'll see you later.”

“loveu” was the muffled response.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Santana woke up around nine-thirty and stretched. She vaguely remembered Britt waking her up before she left. She knew Britt and Courtney would be gone until after two so she decided to call her mom and see if she was free for brunch.

After agreeing to meet at eleven-thirty, Santana jumped in the shower then dressed casually in faded jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a red hoodie. She put the engagement ring box in the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie, grabbed her phone, her wallet, and her keys and headed out to meet her mother.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Maribel POV:

Maribel Lopez watched as Santana walked into the restaurant and smiled to herself. She looked good. Happy. Healthy. Healthier than she'd have expected after being on tour with nothing but fast food on the menu. She stood up and embraced her daughter.

“Hola, mija, you look good.”

“Hi, mami. Thank you. We ate out a lot but we found a balance of exercising and finding healthier choices at the restaurants we ate at.” She smiled.

They sat down and the waitress came to get their orders and bring them coffee. The girl smiled flirtatiously at Santana and Maribel had to stifle a laugh at her daughter's complete lack of response. Maribel watched throughout brunch as the waitress tried, in vain, to flirt with a completely oblivious Santana.

Maribel watched as Santana animatedly told her about 'life on the road' and where they went and things they did. Santana was nervous about something but it seemed different from the anxious nerves she had when she came out; these seemed more like excitement nerves. 

They talked over brunch and several cups of coffee before Maribel finally had to ask.

“Santana?” She looked seriously at her daughter.

“Yeah?”

“What has you so nerved up?”

“How … ?”

“I am your mother. I may not have been exactly attentive, but I still know you and your mannerisms. So? What's going on?”

Santana bit her lower lip and smiled shyly. She reached into the front pocket of her sweatshirt and extended her hand to Maribel. Maribel took the item from Santana's hand and gasped as she saw the red velvet ring box.

“Mija?” 

Santana's smile grew and she nodded at the box.

Maribel opened it and gasped again. “Oh, mija, it's so beautiful. When?”

“I'm hoping by the end of the month but definitely by the end of the year. By this time next year, I want Brittany to be my wife.”

Maribel felt her eyes well up with tears as she closed the box carefully and moved around the table to embrace her daughter.

“Oh, mija, I am happy for you!”

Santana chuckled nervously. “She hasn't said yes.”

Maribel sat back down and handed the box back to Santana, who tucked it right back into her pocket. “She will. If I am certain about nothing else, I am certain about that. That young woman loves you unreservedly, unconditionally. It's a rare thing.” She paused, she was happy for Santana and she believed she and Brittany were perfect for each other but … 

“Mami?”

“Santana,” she struggled to find the right words. She didn't want to upset Santana or have her think Maribel was not being supportive. “I love you. I love Brittany and I am so, so happy.”

“But … ?” Santana's eyes were wary and Maribel could see her closing herself off.

“Don't, bebe, don't pull back. There isn't a but … exactly … there's a concern. I believe in you and Brittany. I have no doubt about the two of you. My concern is more about your futures. Have you talked about what you're going to do? Where you're going to do it?”

Santana nodded in understanding. “I have an idea of what I think we should do but, no, we haven't talked about it in depth yet. When I figure out when I'm going to propose I'm going to initiate the conversation to make sure that we're on the same page about what we want and where we'll go.” Santana pauses for a moment. “I know we're young but I just don't see the point in waiting five or ten years. In five or ten years, I want us to be settled in our careers, maybe own a house and be ready to start a family. If we wait to get married, then everything just gets pushed back and we start our family much later than I think is smart.”

“Why? I mean, why would you have to wait?”

Santana thinks for a minute. “I know that we can live together. We've been doing it for sixteen months but that's all been in a bubble of sorts. Living together without being married is different. I've seen it. People live together for five years and get married and divorced in two.” She frowns, trying to figure out exactly what she's trying to say. “I'm twenty. We get married in the next year and I'm twenty-one. We then can spend five or six years just being married. Working through the stuff in the real world that we didn't have to worry about the past year-and-a-half. That means we'll be ready to start a family when I'm twenty-seven or eight. We can't just … have a baby. There are things we'll need to look into, money will need to be saved, procedures that may take two or three tries. If we get married when I'm twenty-seven, we won't even be thinking about kids until we're in our thirties because I want to be married for a few years before we have children. I don't think I want to risk that. If it takes two or three years to get pregnant …”

Maribel finally understands. “You want to be younger to make sure that there is less likely to be complications.”

“Yeah. I know we could just live together but … I don't see the point in waiting at all. I know I'm going to love her forever.” Santana shrugs. “I've dated men, I've dated women.” She shakes her head. “I've loved Brittany since I was thirteen. I shook her hand and left my heart in her palm. I once told her I worked my ass off to get over her but I never did. I thought I did but I didn't. I realized that I could never give my heart to anyone else because it didn't belong to me anymore. There's this song. It's weird, I know all these random lyrics but have no idea how I know them, why I know them, who sings them, or even the name of the song. The line that keeps circling my head is: but those dreams move on if you wait too long. I don't want to wait too long and miss my window. I don't want Britt to get tired of waiting, you know?”

Maribel nodded. “How do you know she won't propose?”

Santana smiled softly. “It's my turn to take the risk. I mean, I don't think it's much of a risk but … Britt was the one who took a chance on kissing me to, hopefully, get us back together.” She nods. “So, I think she'll wait for me to make the next 'big move', you know?”

“I see.”

“Mami … it's not like I don't have plans. I know what I want to do and I'm pretty sure Britt will be with me. The thing is … it doesn't actually matter. If I want to go to New York and she wants to go to LA we'll talk about it. Figure out what makes sense for both of us. It doesn't matter what we do because we're going to do it together regardless.” She frowned. “Does that make sense?”

“It does. I am so, so happy for you, mija. Please don't think I'm not or that I don't support you. I always thought she was good for you as a friend; as a partner, she's perfect for you. I'm a mother,” she smiles at her daughter, “we worry. It's what we do.”

Santana laughed. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and frowned. “It's dead, dammit. What time is it?”

Maribel checked her watch; she knew she could check her phone but she preferred her watch; it seemed less rude to look at a watch than to constantly be checking a phone. “It's a bit after three.” She watched as her daughter's face fell.

“I've gotta go. Britt's probably home and I didn't even leave a note or anything; I didn't think I'd be gone this long. Can I see your phone to text her?”

“I don't have Brittany's number, mi corazon.”

Maribel watches as Santana groans and begins to panic. “Go. I will settle the bill and talk to you later.”

Santana hurriedly stands up and kisses her mother on the cheek. “Thank you, mami, te amo.”

“Te amo, tambien, mija.”

Maribel smiles and shakes her head as Santana hurries out of the restaurant. She signals the waitress to bring the check and smiles politely as the young woman looks a bit crestfallen at the fact that Santana was no longer at the table. The girl does manage to be polite.

“Can I get you anything else, ma'am?”

“Just the check, please.”

The young woman hands her the bill and hesitates a moment. “Was that your daughter?”

Maribel nods as she looks over the bill. “Yes,” she smiles at the young woman, “it was.”

“Um … is she single?” The young woman blushed furiously as she asked the question.

Maribel chuckled. “No, she isn't. She hasn't truly been single since she was thirteen. She asked me to brunch to tell me she was going to propose to her girlfriend.”

The young waitress' face fell. “Oh.” She sighed. “Lucky girl. The good ones are always taken.” She smiled slightly as she took Maribel's payment. 

“Keep the change. And, don't worry,” she patted the young girl's hand, “your forever is out there.” She smiled kindly as she stood up to leave.

The waitress smiled a little broader. “Thank you, ma'am. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Maribel nodded and headed toward the exit. She would enjoy her day today. She would figure out what to tell Raphael once Santana proposed.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Santana hurried into the house and put the keys on one of the hooks beside the door.

“Britt? Baby? You home?” She glanced in the living room and saw it was empty so she continued on down the hallway. She walked into their bedroom and found Brittany sitting against the headboard, phone gripped tight in her hands, her arms wrapped around her knees, and tears staining her face.

Santana hurried over and pulled Brittany into a tight hug.

“Baby, what's wrong?” She gently stroked her hands over Brittany's back and held her close. “What happened?”

Brittany pulled back and the hurt in her eyes took Santana by surprise. “Where were you? You weren't here, you weren't answering your phone or texts.”

“Oh, honey, I'm so sorry,” Santana didn't understand why Brittany was so upset but she was determined to make her feel better no matter what. “I forgot to charge my phone last night. I went to brunch with mom and I just lost track of time. I thought I'd be home before you.” She gently wiped the tears from Brittany's face. “I'm sorry, baby.”

Brittany shook her head. “I don't know why I'm so upset. I mean … you weren't here and you weren't answering and, all of sudden, I got so sad. Like I was never going to see you again.”

Santana felt her stomach drop. “Oh, Britt. Do you know what yesterday was?”

Brittany shook her head, looking a bit confused.

“It was October fourth. Two years ago, yesterday, I walked away from you and I stopped answering your calls consistently and stopped texting regularly.”

Brittany frowned. “But … that was two years ago? Why would I be sad about it now? We made up and everything.”

“I didn't learn a lot in my classes at Louisville but, one of the things that stuck with me was something called 'the anniversary effect'.” She sighs and thinks for a moment. “The mind forgets but the body remembers. You expected me to be here when you got home and I wasn't; your body 'remembered' me walking away and then you couldn't get me on the phone. All of that just, sort of, reminded you that this happened before and what it meant.” Santana smiled sadly. “Last year we were in the UK so the date passed without either of us recognizing it; we were together and having fun. I'm so sorry, Britt.”

Brittany shook her head. “I get what you're saying but I don't think you have to apologize for something you have no control over.”

“But I do have some control. I should have made sure my phone was charged. Or left you a note. Or … something. We need to send mami your phone number.”
“Baby, you couldn't have known this would happen. Neither of us was thinking about the date yesterday.” She smiled wryly, “I'm actually fine now; it's like, I figured it out and I'm okay.” She hands Santana her phone so she can program in Maribel's number.
Santana quickly sends her mother a text from Brittany's phone then looks back at the blonde.

“Good. I'm glad you're okay now.” She gently stroked Brittany's cheek. “You look exhausted, though. Let me change and we'll take a nap then we'll order pizza and watch a movie. What time do we have to be in the choir room tomorrow?”

“Seven-thirty.”

“Ugh. Early to bed tonight, then, too. I'll be right back.” She kissed Britt gently on the forehead and went into the bathroom.

She looked around; where was she going to hide the ring until she could put it back in its hidey-hole in the closet? She finally decided to just leave it in the hoodie pocket; she wasn't going to wear it tomorrow so she hung the hoodie on a hook on the back of the door then hung her jeans over it. That should do until she had a chance to re-hide it.

Chapter Text

Santana sighed happily as she cuddled into Brittany's side. Rachel and Kurt had dropped the perfect opportunity to propose in her lap. She'd asked Britt about moving to New York and they were on the same page; now, all she had to do … was do it.

“We should probably work out the mash-up,” Britt interrupted her thoughts, “I promised Blaine and Karofsky I'd help them around three.” She sighed.

Santana chuckled. “Babe, you don't like Blaine and you can't stand Karofsky … why did you agree to help them decorate their new place?” Santana shuddered at the thought of Karofsky and Blaine together. Ew. Just Ew.

“Honestly? I'm hoping this will finally set Kurt free. I don't think Blaine is good for him. I mean, it's really none of my business but Kurt's my friend – mostly – and I hate seeing him hurting.” She paused for a moment. “It also gives me a chance to do a little trolling … rainbows will be used. Lots of rainbows.”

Santana laughed and sat up. “And everyone thinks I'm the bad influence.”

Brittany sat up and shot Santana a toothy grin, making her face completely blank. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

Santana laughed even harder. “You forget … I know you, Britt-Britt. I know the wiles behind that blank stare. You don't fool me.” She pecked Brittany's lips. “Grab a notebook and a couple of pens, let's see if we can write this thing out. While you're with Blainofsky,” she rolled her eyes, “I'll head over to the school and give the words to the band and see if they can come up with something. What time is it?”

“A little before noon.”

“Okay, so we've got about three hours to figure out the words and choreography then we can rehearse when we both get back later.”

“Sounds good.”

xoxoxoxoxoxo

At two-thirty, they had finished mashing up the songs; Santana had put rudimentary music to it as a guideline to the band and Brittany had done some light choreography that they would fine tune later.

They walked out and gave each other a quick kiss before heading off in different directions.

Santana got to the school a little before three; she knew the band kids would be there at least until four but she was hoping Rachel and Kurt were gone. She walked down the hall and peeked into the choir room before entering. 

Standing just inside the door, she waved to get their attention. When they looked her way she whispered, “Kurt and Rachel?”

The guitarist smiled. “They left about half an hour ago bickering like an old married couple or something.” She rolled her eyes. “What's up?”

Santana walked into the room and held out the papers. “Britt and I mashed up the words and I put a few notes about the music but I was hoping you guys could sort of polish it up for tomorrow morning?” She  scrunched her nose up apologetically. “Sorry, I hadn't planned on volunteering this morning.”

“No worries,” the drummer took the papers from Santana and looked them over, “oh, yeah, no problem.” He showed the other band members and they nodded.

They spent the next forty minutes working on the music until it was good enough to sing and dance to. Santana recorded it on her phone so she and Britt could work with it later. 

“Thanks, guys. Hey, um, Crystal, right?” She asked the guitarist.

“Yeah.” The young woman nodded and smiled.

“Can I talk to you in the hall for a minute?”

Crystal nodded and set her guitar down. “Be right back guys.”

Once they were in the hall, Santana fidgeted with her fingers. “So, um, I need a favor. Maybe two?”

“If I can, sure.” 

Santana took a deep breath and pulled the ring box out of the pocket of her hoodie.

“After our song tomorrow, I wanna propose to Brittany but, um, my dresses don't have pockets. I was wondering if maybe I could trust you to, um, hold this for me? Give it to me when I let you know I want it?”

Crystal took the box, smiling broadly. “Yeah, of course! Congratulations! Can I … ?” 

Santana nodded.

Crystal opened the box and whistled. “Wow. That is gorgeous!”

“Thanks.” She swallowed thickly. “I'll say something like 'I usually use a lot of words when I'm saying something negative' and then I'll look at you.” She bit her bottom lip.

Crystal nodded and closed the ring box, slipping it into the top pocket of her flannel shirt and buttoning it up. “Happy to help. You said you might need another favor?”

Santana nodded and took a deep breath now that the hard part was over. No turning back now; she had a co-conspirator. “You wouldn't happen to know anyone in AV?”

“Yeah. As a matter of fact, I do. My boyfriend's president of the AV club.”

“I was hoping to maybe get it filmed? So I can show my mom, and Britt's parents and sister, and a couple of friends who won't be here.”

Crystal nodded. “Yeah, come on, he's waiting for me in the AV room. Let me just let the guys know I'm leaving.” She popped her head in and let her band mates know she was leaving for the day then led Santana down a couple of corridors and up a set of stairs to the AV room.

“Darryl?” A boy about seventeen with short brown hair and hazel eyes looked around at her.

“Hey, babe,” he smiled, standing to greet her. “You done for the day?”

“Yeah but … um … this is Santana. She needs some help. She's gonna propose to her girlfriend in the choir room tomorrow and wants to get it videoed. Think you can help her out?”

Darryl smiled. “Yeah, sure, of course. Congratulations, by the way.”

“Thanks. She hasn't said yes yet …”

Crystal scoffed a laugh. “Are you kidding? The way she looks at you?”

Santana smiled. “Thanks.”

Darryl had moved to a cabinet and came back with five cameras. “You know how and where?”

“We're going to do a mash-up … singing, dancing … I'd like to get it all recorded. Oh, and, if you guys could keep it to yourselves? Please?”

They both nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

The three of them walked back to the choir room and Darryl had Santana run through where she and Brittany would be singing and dancing. He set up the cameras then took Crystal's phone and downloaded an app.

“Turn it on before you start … like this,” he showed her how to set it up, “then you just reverse it to turn it off. It'll all get saved to the cloud and I'll mix it together and email it to you tomorrow afternoon.”

“Thank you both, so much. I really appreciate it.” Santana smiled and gave Darryl her email address. “See you tomorrow.”

They both smiled and wished her luck as she left the school.

She shot a quick text to Brittany. 

To: My Genius
10-6-14 4:37pm
Done at the school, Thai?

From: My Genius
10-6-14 4:42pm
Sounds good. Be home around 5:30

Santana smiled and went to pick up dinner. On the way back to Brittany's, she had an idea and called her mother.

“Hola, mija! Didn't I just see you yesterday? Not that I'm complaining.”

Santana laughed. “Britt and I are going to Dayton to that seafood place we stopped at on the way back from Louisville. I thought I'd see if you wanted to join us.”

“I'd love to, mija. I can't wait to see Brittany!”

“Meet us at the Pierce's at six.”

“Alright, carina, I will see you then. Te amo.”

Santana smiled. “Te amo, mami. Will see you tomorrow.”

She hung up and hoped that this wasn't all going to blow up in her face.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Fucking Kurt and his fucking fucked up life. Fuck him, fucking up her proposal. Did she think him accepting Blaine's proposal was a good idea? No. Did she interrupt that proposal? No. Because it was NONE OF HER FUCKING BUSINESS.

Santana was pissed. She had laid into Kurt but still didn't feel better. After things had settled down, Brittany had kissed her and said she had an errand to run and would see her at home later. Santana had told her they were leaving at six to go to Jake's and Brittany's smile had brightened.

Santana smiled. She said yes. She said “I would love to!” Brittany agreed to marry her. She stopped running and bent at the waist taking deep gulps of air. The run had helped … a little. She was still pissed but less murderous. She shook her head and turned back toward Brittany's.

She let herself in and hung the keys on the hook by the door before going in to shower. 

Xoxoxoxoxo

“I'm sorry, I know I'm running late. I'll shower and change quick and be ready to go.”

Santana smiled at her from the couch as Brittany hurried into the house.

“It's okay, Britt, you've got about forty-five minutes. Slow down.”

Brittany changed directions and moved toward the couch where Santana was reading on her tablet. She kissed the top of the brunette's head. “Hi.”

Santana tilted her head back to look at the blonde. “Hi.” She smiled brightly.

“You look beautiful.” Santana was dressed in a pair of faded slim fit jeans, a fitted purple v-neck shirt, and a pair of black ankle boots.

“Thanks. You look as gorgeous as ever.” She reached back and took hold of Brittany's wrist, pulling her around the couch and into Santana's lap. She wrapped her arms around the dancer's waist and tilted her head up for a kiss, which Brittany quickly obliged.

“Why do you smell like chocolate?” Santana scrunched her nose in confusion; Brittany usually smelled … kind of like a breezy summer day.

Brittany kissed her again and got up, laughing. “You caught me, I had a Mounds bar a little while ago to tide me over until dinner.” She grinned at Santana's pout and pulled two fun size Mounds bars out of her pocket, handing them to the Latina.

Santana squeed in delight. “Thanks! You're the best!”

Brittany kissed the top of her head as she started leaving the room. “That's why you're marrying me …” she sing-songed.

“One of the many reasons, Britt-Britt.”

Half an hour later, Brittany came back into the living room; hair dried and lightly curled with light make-up highlighting those ocean blue eyes Santana loved so much. She was wearing a soft, knee-length, gray skirt, a blue t-shirt with a unicorn on the front, and a pair of gray slouchy boots.

Santana smiled. “You look amazing.”

Brittany settled into Santana's lap and kissed her fiancee softly. Santana tilted her head and deepened the kiss, moaning softly as Britt's tongue requested access. Before Santana could comply, the doorbell rang. Santana groaned as Brittany laughed and stood up.

“Maribel Lopez, queen of impeccable timing,” Santana grumbled.

“Come on,” Brittany offered Santana her hand.

“Britt? Where's your ring?”

“In my pocket. You wanted to surprise your mom with the video, right? You really think, knowing that you were planning on proposing, she won't look at my left hand immediately?”

“That's why you're the genius.” Santana said before opening the door.

Sure enough, even as she was greeting them, Santana saw her mom (try to) surreptitiously look at Britt's left hand.

They locked up and got into Santana's car; Santana had insisted on driving.

Xoxoxoxoxo

When they reached Jake's, the parking lot was only about half-full. It was a Tuesday, after all. They went in and were, once again, greeted by the always chipper Stacie.

“By the dance floor, right?” The hostess grinned.

Santana laughed. “Yeah. There's only three of us tonight.”

Stacie smiled and led them to a table by the dance floor. She took their drink orders and told them that Gilda would be right with them.

“Ladies! So good to see you again!” Gilda smiled at the girls as she set the drinks down. “And you've brought someone new.”

“Gilda, this is my mother, Maribel. Mami, this is Gilda, one of our favorite people.”

“It's nice to meet you, Gilda,” Maribel smiled at the woman.

“Likewise,” she answered, smiling, “have you decided?”

Once their orders were placed, Santana pulled out her phone and handed it to Maribel. “Brittany and I did this mash-up today for the re-booted Glee club. I thought you might like to see it?”

“Oh, I'd love to!”

Santana grinned at the phrase and pushed play; Brittany carefully pulled the ring out of her pocket and slipped it back on her finger. She looked at Santana and smiled, biting her bottom lip. Santana smiled back then looked back to her mother, who was captivated by the video. She lifted her hand to her mouth as the song ended and Santana began to speak.

“Mijas! Ay dios mio!” Maribel yelled as she watched Santana get down on one knee and laughed as Brittany grabbed the ring from the box. She stood up and moved around the table hugging them both tightly. “I'm so happy for you both!” She sat back down and wiped a tear from her eye then held out her hand to Brittany. “Let me see!”

Santana laughed. “You saw it Sunday, mami.”

“Not on her finger.”

Brittany held her hand out and Maribel cooed over it, then kissed the ring. “Buena suerte, mijas. I could not be happier. However … I do have a question.”

Santana looked at her mother, expecting her to ask about their plans. “Yeah?” She asked warily.

“Do I need to hire a lawyer or will they not find Kurt's body?”

Santana burst out laughing. “I gave him a vicious tongue-lashing but he's still very much alive.” 

“For now,” she muttered as an afterthought.

Brittany and Maribel just grinned.

Gilda came and deposited their salads and bread.

“Do you have non-alcoholic champagne?” Maribel asked.

Gilda nodded. “We do. Are we celebrating something?”

Brittany held up her hand. “Santana asked me to marry her this morning.”

Gilda's hand flew to her mouth “Oh, that is wonderful! Congratulations!” She circled around and hugged both girls. “I always knew you two were meant for each other. I'll be right back with the sparkling grape,” she winked at the girls.

Xoxoxoxoxo 

They enjoyed their meals and the champagne and, when they had finished eating, Santana made her way to the karaoke machine.

“Hi, folks! Today, the most amazing woman in the world agreed to marry me and I want to sing it to the world.”

She smiled at Brittany. “This is for you, Britt. I love you.”

For you, there'll be no more crying
For you, the sun will be shining
And I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right

To you, I will give the world
To you, I'll never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right

And the songbirds are singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before

And I wish you all the love in the world
But most of all, I wish it from myself

And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you

Like never before
Like never before
Like never before

She finished with a smile and watched as Brittany wiped a tear away. The restaurant erupted in applause and Santana grinned; she had almost forgotten they weren't alone.

She made her way back to the table and gave Brittany a quick peck. 

“I love that song, thank you.”

“Any time, sweetheart.”

“That was beautiful, mija.” Maribel said.

“Thank you, mami. The first time I sang it I was too ashamed to do it in front of other people.” She looked at Brittany. “I will sing it from the rooftops from now on.”

Brittany smiled.

“Santana, I had no idea you could sing! And so beautifully!”

Santana grinned. “You just got the karaoke machine and we were here with Mercedes last time so I didn't take the opportunity.”

Gilda smiled. “Anything else? Change for the jukebox?” She smiled slyly.

Santana laughed. “Absolutely. And Britt and I will share a piece of the cherry swirl cheesecake. Mami?”

“I'll take a slice as well, thank you.”

Gilda was back in a moment with the dessert and the change.

Santana made her way to the jukebox after they'd finished dessert. She browsed through the selections and smiled as the song that made her think of them popped up. She pressed play and walked over to the table.

“May I have this dance, Miss Pierce?” She asked, extending her hand.

Brittany took it and they moved to the middle of the dance floor, moving in sync, slowly as Santana sang softly along with Cher and Peter Cetera.

After all the stops and starts
We keep coming back to these two hearts
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall
And after all that we've been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it's meant to be
Forever you and me, after all 

xoxoxoxoxo

Maribel watched as the girls moved across the dance floor. She listened to the words of the song and realized it was perfect for the two of them.

“They're something special, aren't they?”

Maribel looked up and smiled at Gilda. “They are.”

“I could tell the first time they came in. They were talking and Brittany got upset; Santana was on her feet immediately to comfort her. Brittany still looked down after they had dessert so Santana asked for change for the jukebox. The transformation in Brittany was … breathtaking.” Gilda shook her head. “I couldn't believe it when they told me they weren't together. They're just so … in sync.”

Maribel nodded. “Since they were young teenagers. I never suspected the depth of their relationship but I look back now and I wonder how I ever missed it.” She smiled as she watched her daughter softly sing and Brittany's adoring smile.

“I'm glad they were able to figure it out.” She patted Maribel on the shoulder. “Sorry for rambling.”

Maribel patted her hand. “I understand.”

Gilda moved off after asking Maribel if they needed anything else. Maribel just shook her head and asked for the bill. Gilda nodded and moved off.

The girls sat back down, smiling. 

“Almost ready, mijas? I asked Gilda to bring the bill.”

Santana yawned. “I'm ready.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Maribel saw movement. She turned and her eyes widened in shock; a mountain of a man with a shaved head and piercing blue eyes was moving toward their table. His biceps were huge and Maribel was suddenly worried for their safety; this was southwest Ohio, not New York or California.

“Girls, we should go …” 

Maribel was confused by their reactions. Santana looked up and a grin split her face; Brittany squealed and jumped up, hugging the big man tightly. Santana stood up and kissed the man on the cheek.

“Ladies, I understand congratulations are in order?” He smiled broadly at the two young women.

“She said yes,” Santana's smile grew impossibly brighter.

“So Gilda said. Congratulations, you two.” He kissed them lightly on the cheek.

“Jake, this is my mother, Maribel. Mami, this is Jake, he owns the place.”

Maribel offered her hand and was surprised at how gentle the giant was. “It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am.” He smiled at her.

“Likewise.” She wondered how in the world the girls knew this man well enough to hug and kiss him.

“I know you're getting ready to head out, it's on the house tonight.”

“Jake! You're going to go bankrupt if you keep comping us,” Santana grumbled with a smile.

“Hardly. I made you pay the last two times,” he winked at Brittany, “gotta keep my unicorn card in good stead.”

Brittany and Santana laughed as Maribel just marveled at how easily Santana interacted with this man.

They stood up and Maribel dropped a hundred dollars on the table for the tip.

“Now I see where you get your generosity, Santana,” Jake grinned. “You ladies be careful getting back home. Don't be strangers.”

The three ladies made their way out of the restaurant to the parking lot.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Brittany looked at Santana and could see she was worn out. Today had been an emotionally draining one for the Latina.

“Baby, why don't you crawl into the back and lie down? You look exhausted. I know it's been kind of a roller-coaster day for you. Maribel, you don't mind sitting up front with me, do you?”

“Not at all. Go on, mija, Brittany is right; you do look a little tired.”

Santana looked like she was going to argue but simply handed Brittany the keys and climbed into the back seat of the Jeep. Brittany went to the back and pulled out the emergency blanket Santana kept back there; she took off her sweater and folded it up, handing both to Santana. Santana smiled warmly as she curled up under the blanket, her head on Brittany's sweater.

She was asleep before they left the parking lot.

Chapter Text

Maribel POV:

Brittany and Maribel rode in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Maribel finally had to ask.

“Brittany? How do you and Santana know Jake so well? You've only been there a few times, right?”

Brittany nodded. “The first time Santana took me there was the Friday before we went to Toledo; when we were 'negotiating the terms of our reconciliation',” Brittany chuckled. “We had a really good night. We talked and laughed and cried and danced and we cleared the air on a bunch of things that may have turned into stumbling blocks down the line.”

Brittany paused, lost in thought for a moment; Maribel waited patiently.

“We were getting ready to leave when these two guys sat down at our table and started hitting on us. Saying stuff about how two pretty ladies shouldn't be alone on a Friday night. Turns out they had seen the ad and knew who Santana was. One of them grabbed Santana but she moved away and tried to steer me away but the other guy grabbed me. I broke his nose and he was about to hit me when Jake grabbed him and the other guy by the back of their collars. He gave them hell for harassing us then threw them out. He comped our meals and told us we were always welcome; that not everyone was like those two guys.”

She sighed. “He insisted on walking us out because, even though he had the guys thrown out he didn't trust that they wouldn't be hanging around the parking lot. He asked Gilda to back him up; she grabbed a shotgun from behind the bar and followed us to the door. We were about half-way to the car when the shotgun blast went off; Gilda said the next shot was taking out a knee and she didn't much care whose.” Brittany chuckled and shook her head at that. “We turned around and the two guys were coming up behind Jake holding tire irons. Jake knocked their heads together and told us to go; he'd deal with the sheriff, there was no reason for us to be involved any further.” She shook her head. “When I saw him, I thought he was going to give us hell for … being us in his place but he didn't. He was really kind. So we've been back a couple of times and we haven't had a problem since.”

“That's amazing. I would never have guessed it looking at him. I was worried for a moment. I guess you really shouldn't judge people, eh?”

Brittany grinned. “Jake is a surprising guy.”

“I am so happy, Brittany. I can't even tell you how happy I am that you and Santana are getting married. You're perfect.”

Brittany smiled softly. “I'm not. But I am perfect for her. Just like she's perfect for me.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

Brittany nodded.

Maribel considered how she wanted to ask this; she was of a different generation. She didn't understand some things about Santana's sexuality or Brittany's and she knew it was none of her business.

But.

“Santana used to be with boys, right? But she considers herself a lesbian?”

Brittany nodded. Maribel could see the wariness in her eyes; she didn't want to break any of Santana's confidences.

“You … were with a boy after you and Santana broke up … I …” she sighed softly, “how do you know you won't … I don't know … miss it?”

Brittany let out a small laugh. “I've had three relationships. Only one was serious. I started dating Artie to make Santana jealous but ended up really liking him and eventually loving him. I dated Sam to try and get over Santana; and ended up liking and eventually loving him. I loved them but I was never in love with them. Sam and Artie were placeholders for Santana. I kind of hate that I kind of used them like that even though I did care for them. I just always knew that Santana was my endgame.”

She paused again. When she spoke again, it was soft. “I was fourteen when I met Santana. She was thirteen and trying so hard to look scary and badass. I watched her for a few minutes before I approached her. She had her arms crossed and a scowl on her face; intimidating everyone who came near her. But I actually saw her; her eyes were sad and lonely and scared. I knew I needed to know her. I wanted to be her friend. When I introduced myself she tried to be mean.” She let out a small chuckle. “I pouted and she caved. We shook hands and … I knew. I left my heart in the palm of her hand. It felt like … coming home.”

She shook her head to clear it of the reverie. “Anyway. Santana and I have had this conversation more than once. She worries that I may regret not having a 'normal' life. That it would be 'easier' if I was with a man. I told her that easier doesn't mean better. Artie and Sam were easy. You know, we never fought? Most people think that's a good thing but … if you don't fight about or for something, how much do you really care about it? They were easy but not better. And, honestly, there's a good chance that even if I wasn't with her, another woman would catch my eye. I've never really been into labels or cared much what was between someone's legs. I've always been more attracted to their hearts and minds.”

She took a glance in the backseat and smiled.

“That girl back there? Has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known.”

“My Santanita?” Maribel was surprised; Santana had always come across as someone who didn't care about anyone ... except Brittany. 

Brittany laughed. “Everyone has the same reaction, mostly because they don't pay attention. Everyone thinks I'm the 'nice one'. I'm just the non-confrontational one.” Brittany looked over at Maribel. “She guards that heart because it's so easily hurt. Almost every one of those Glee Club members hurt her in one way or another. She's forgiven them all. Even me.”

“You?”

Brittany looked over again and smiled sadly. “Sophomore year, I accidentally outed her but, because I was just a ditzy blonde, it was discounted. She forgave me. Junior year, I broke her heart when I chose Artie – even though I wanted her – and, I accidentally outed her AGAIN. She was furious with me but she didn't call me names, didn't even really yell at me or even try to hurt me with her vicious words. The next day, Artie called me stupid and broke my heart. I went running to find Santana because … she's my person. She's my Santana. She had a scowl on her face when she saw me coming toward her but she must have seen the heartbreak in my eyes or something because her eyes softened; her face and whole demeanor softened and she pulled me into a tight hug. My second senior year, I didn't tell her about Sam. She had to find out from Tina. All of it. She forgave me; truly forgave me. We've talked about it but, in the middle of an argument? She's never once brought it up.”

Brittany wiped a tear from her eye and sighed. “Finn. Mercedes. Quinn. Tina. Rachel. They all hurt her in one way or another. Now Kurt. Which, I forgot to tell her that he apologized to me. She's already half-way to forgiving him; when I tell her that he apologized and then he apologizes to her? She'll forgive him. She'll forgive Raphael if he apologizes to me. He won't even have to apologize to her; as long as he makes it right with me, she'll forgive him. She'll forgive Alma.”

Maribel sat in silence thinking about this. “She forgave me,” she says, her voice soft.

“Yes. She did.” Brittany shrugged. “I don't think you know how much it meant to her that you stood by her when she came out. That you stood up to Raphael and Alma and anyone else in the family that had something negative to say.”

Silence fell again as Maribel considered what Brittany had said. She was learning quite a bit about her daughter.

“Did she ever tell you about performing in Funny Girl?”

“No, I knew she was the understudy but she quit to run off to Europe with this blonde dancer she knew.” Maribel smiled as Brittany grinned. 

“Rachel was stupid and got herself into a jam in LA and wasn't going to make it back for her performance. Kurt was freaking out. Santana went on for her. And she absolutely killed it. She was brilliant. Santana had nothing to gain by it; the only reason to do it was to help Rachel. Rachel had given Santana a lot of grief about that understudy role; Santana forgave her. Went on and saved Rachel's ass from getting sued into a debt so big her grandkids would be paying it off.”

“That's Santana. And most of them still don't see it.” Brittany shook her head. “The only one who really gets it is Mercedes. She knows that Santana is one of the best friends you'll ever have. She finally saw Santana … senior year, Mercedes started figuring it out.”

“She's probably going to kill me for telling you all of this. And then she'll forgive me.” Brittany smiled.

“And what about you? Have you forgiven her?”

“Yes. A long time ago. When she broke it off, she broke both our hearts. It felt so wrong and, even now, she'll tell you it was a horrible decision. Thing is, though? It worked out the way it needed to. She saved our friendship which is why we were able to rebuild our relationship.”

“You love her very much.”

“More than anyone will ever know or understand. She's my person.”

Maribel smiled. “She's your lobster?”

Brittany smiled and shook her head. “Lobster males are hoes. Friends was wrong.” She laughed. “She's my Shingleback lizard.”

“Your what?”

“When we were younger Santana referred to herself as a lizard once. I teased her about it a lot. Still do. When we were at the Toledo Zoo, we saw a lizard called the Shingleback. They mate for life.”

Maribel chuckled. “The two of you are beyond cute together.”

Brittany laughed again.

“Mari?”

“Yes?”

“What will you tell Raphael?”

“I will tell him that he needs to get his head out of his ass and that I will be at my daughter's wedding … with or without him.”

Brittany nodded. “I think Alma not being there will hurt more.”

“You're right. Alma had a hand in raising her. A big hand. Raphael was, at best, tolerant.” Maribel sighed. “He loves her. He truly does. He just never knew what to do with her. She was always guarded; she never seemed comfortable around him … or me. I know it's because we weren't around very much. We made mistakes and Alma was the one who primarily took care of her. Then I find out that Alma was borderline abusive.” Maribel shook her head. “My poor girl. Made her strong and tough, I suppose, but the cost was too high.”

Brittany thought about it for a moment. “Maybe. Then I wonder if she'd still be Santana if things had been different. I feel so special because she chose me. She let me in. If she was open with everyone; would we be what we are?”

“An interesting way to look at it, carina.” Maribel sighed. “Thank you for being so open with me. Some of these questions … Santana would scowl at me for. I'm not trying to judge or pry; I just want to understand, you know?”

“I do. And you're welcome. I don't think I told you anything she wouldn't want you to know. She probably never would have told you any of it but I don't think she'll be upset that you know a little more about her.”

“She's right, you know? You are a genius.”

“Like I told her; I'm just the foremost expert in the field of Santana Lopez.”

Maribel laughed at that and they spent the remainder of the drive chatting about inconsequential things.

Chapter Text

Since there were no Glee plans, Santana sat at a small corner table of the Lima Bean scribbling in her notebook. She usually preferred to use her laptop; it had a music program as well as a writing program so she could work on both music and lyrics at the same time. However, today she'd been having trouble focusing and finally gave up on the laptop. She grabbed her notebook and left the Pierce house for the Lima Bean, hoping the change of scenery and writing tools would help her break through.

She Said Yes was printed clearly at the top of the page but the rest of the page was a mess of scribbles and long sentences that would definitely not make a decent lyric. She sighed and set her pencil down, pinching the bridge of her nose, and reaching for her mocha; which was empty. She sighed.

"May I join you?"

Santana looked up and quirked a brow at a nervous looking Kurt before nodding to the empty chair on her right. He set a cup down in front of her and she looked at him curiously.

"Mocha. The barista said you'd been here awhile so," he shrugged, "I figured you were probably due for a refill."

She nodded. "Thank you." She was willing to listen and not be a complete bitch but that didn't mean she was going to make it easy.

He swallowed. "I talked to Brittany a couple of days ago and apologized to her but I also owe you an apology."

She nodded again as she took a sip of the mocha. "Britt told me she talked to you."

Kurt took a deep breath. "Santana … I am so sorry I interrupted your proposal. I … I have no excuse. I didn't stop to think, I just reacted and I am really, really sorry."

Santana nodded. "Thank you. Apology accepted. And …" she sighed, "I owe you an apology as well. Not for everything I said but some of what I said was uncalled for and unnecessary. For those comments, I'm sorry."

He nodded in acceptance and they sat in companionable silence for a moment before Santana spoke up again.

"I get it.” She said softly. “You remember what I was like when I first got to New York. Britt and I were completely over, she was with Sam, and I was a mess. So I get why you're spiraling. You need to understand something, though; no one knows what goes on between two people behind closed doors." She took a breath and ordered her thoughts. "When Blaine proposed to you, I didn't think it was a good idea. It felt, to me, like a grand gesture to … I don't know … mitigate the cheating? But … I don't know your relationship. I don't know your conversations and feelings and thoughts. My relationship with Britt? Isn't yours with Blaine."

She paused again and took a sip of her mocha, trying to decide how much she wanted to share. She sighed and shook her head.
She stared down at her mocha. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft. "I met Britt on June 26, 2008. It was the first day of Cheerio try-outs. I remember the day like it was yesterday … because it was the last time I saw my heart; I shook her hand and left my heart in the palm of it."

She looked at Kurt. "She was my first everything; so I totally understand what you're feeling. Britt and I have known each other for six years. We've done our fighting and making up. We didn't break up because we fell out of love or one of us cheated. I broke both our hearts to try and keep our friendship. In my mind, we were going to find our way back to each other. But that wasn't going to happen if we ended up hating or resenting each other. There was only one time I thought she and I wouldn't get back together; when she went to MIT. I thought that was it for us; then she kissed me and we've spent the past sixteen months in each other's back pockets. We've had our share of fights and whatever but, in the end? I know I want to spend the rest of my life with her. It doesn't matter how young we are; I've loved her since I was thirteen and that hasn't changed in six and a half years."

Kurt looked at her as he processed what she'd said. She knew she'd told him more about her and Britt's relationship, and about herself, than she'd shared with most people and he was probably wondering why she was being so open when she'd always been so closed off.
Truthfully, she wasn't sure; maybe she just wanted him to understand that their relationships were different. They were Brittany and Santana and their relationship was completely different from Blaine and Kurt's.

He frowned.

"What about when she was stranded in the airport without a passport or a phone? You were apart for a month, right?"

Santana just looked at him with an eyebrow raised; waiting for the penny to drop. She saw the moment he realized it; his jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

"OH. MY. GOD! She was in New York the whole time! You'd have razed that island to the ground before you'd have left her there alone. But … why?"

Santana shrugged. "If you repeat this, I'll deny it and they'll never find your body."

He nodded his understanding.

"She doesn't like Rachel, like, at all. She really never has but, with the whole Funny Girl fiasco, she really doesn't like her. Britt is easy-going; she'll forgive just about anyone for just about anything. Except if it hurts me or her sister. Britt can hold a grudge like nobody's business. She didn't want to jump on the 'stroke Rachel's ego' express and spend a month being part of 'the Rachel show'. So she stayed with a dancer friend. That was actually a tough month because we weren't living together but, we survived. We survived the two weeks I was in Iowa. I wasn't exaggerating when I said she was my favorite person."

"I guess, I never really thought about it. I mean, you and Britt were always adorable together but … I'm sorry, I just never considered that it was as serious as it, obviously, was and is. I just … I don't know."

"You're not the only one who didn't take us seriously. We were, and are, pretty private about our relationship. I've told you more today than I've ever told anyone. I just want you to understand that we're not you and Blaine; the circumstances of my proposal weren't the circumstances of Blaine's. Once we got back together last year, I knew I was going to marry her. I started ring shopping in June because I knew, once the tour was over, we'd finally have to settle down somewhere and start doing something about our futures. I don't want to move to New York as her girlfriend. I told my mom about this song … I only remember one lyric: but those dreams move on if you wait too long." she sang softly. "I'm not taking any chances of us getting comfortable just being girlfriends and not taking the next step. She's too important to me to risk losing her again."

Kurt nodded. "I get it. And I am sorry. I … really didn't think."

"I know. I don't know what's going to happen with you and Blaine. I honestly think you can do better but, like I said, it's your relationship and I don't have the insight into it. Just like you don't have the insight into ours."

"Where is Britt?"

Santana laughed. "She went to her old dance studio to 'show off her rock and brag about who her fiancée was'." She shook her head, smiling, still riding the high of Brittany saying yes.

Kurt laughed and they slipped into an easy silence, sipping their drinks, each lost in their own thoughts.

"You were right, you know?" Santana said suddenly. "Yesterday. What you said to Mason and Jane. It was pretty and they sounded good together but it was nowhere near competition worthy. You were a little too harsh, I mean, it was only their first time singing together and their first mash-up but your criticism wasn't off base."

"Yeah. Rachel told me that Mason and Jane talked to her and agreed with me; that they wanted to be the best and they couldn't get there if we coddled them."

"Good. They recognize it. They're good. All four of them are. They need the guidance."

They chatted for a few more moments until Santana's phone buzzed with a text from Britt asking where she was. She sent a quick reply, packed up all her stuff, gave Kurt a quick hug, and headed home to her fiancée.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"How was the studio? I forgot to ask." Santana asked as they were getting ready for bed.

"Awesome. I got some dancing in and those bitches were totally jealous of my fiancée's awesome taste in rings. Then I told them who I was marrying and, I swear, a couple of them cried." Brittany grinned as Santana laughed.

"Because you're off the market and they missed their chance, I'm sure."

Brittany shook her head. "Nope," she popped the 'p', "totally because I took the hottest woman in the world off the market." She gave Santana a sweet kiss as they climbed into bed.

"I saw Kurt today."

"Is he still breathing?" Brittany looked at her seriously.

Santana laughed. "Yeah, we had a good talk, I guess," before she could continue, Brittany's phone rang.

"Hang on, honey, it's my mom."

Britt sat back up and answered the phone. "Mom? What's going on? I've been trying to reach you all week."

"What? Is everything okay? Do I need to come there?" Santana looked concerned as Brittany's voice rose and she started getting upset so Santana moved over to sit closer to Britt and gently scratched her back, letting her know that Santana was there and everything would be okay.

"That's because dad's phone is on his nightstand. What about Courtney? Do I need to bring her home? "

Santana couldn't hear the other side of the conversation so she just stayed near Britt, trying to keep her calm.

"Okay. Can I talk to Boji?"

There was a brief pause.

"Hi, Boji. How are you? Is everything okay? Do you need me to come help? Mom didn't tell me before she left, I had no idea. Uh huh. Okay. Yeah. If you do need me to come, please let me know? Love you, too, Boji."

Another brief pause. Brittany seemed a little less panicky but Santana could feel the anxiety coming off her fiancée.

"Okay. Let me know when you're coming back for sure. I'll call Cindy tomorrow and make sure Court has everything she needs. Okay. Give my love to Moni and dad. Love you, too, mom." She hung up the phone and dropped her chin to her chest.

Santana didn't want to say anything if Brittany wasn't ready to talk so she simply wrapped her arms around Britt's waist and held her close; Brittany turned in Santana's arms and buried her face in Santana's neck.

Santana could feel the tears on her neck and shoulder so she simply held her girl, gently stroking her back. It took a few minutes but Brittany finally calmed down and pulled away, wiping the tears from her face.

"That was my mom."

"What's going on?"

"Moni broke her hip last Saturday; that's why she and dad left town so suddenly."

"Is she okay? Do we need to go there?" Santana was concerned; from what she heard she didn't think Whitney had told Brittany to come but Britt might want to go anyway.

Brittany shook her head. "She's going home tomorrow. Mom and dad should be back no later than Tuesday she said. They just need to set up services for Moni and Boji. I sorta get why she didn't put it in the note but, still …" she trailed off.

"I know babe. Did she say why they hadn't been in touch?"

"Her phone died and she forgot to grab a charger and dad couldn't find his phone; because he forgot to take it. I heard it ringing and didn't even think to answer it. She finally had a chance to go to Walmart and get a charger. Boji didn't know they hadn't called me."

"I heard you mention Courtney?"

"Yeah. Jessica's mom, Cindy, said she's fine there until mom and dad get back. Maybe we could pick them up Saturday for a movie or something? Just to give Cindy a break. I mean, they're not toddlers or babies so they're pretty self-sufficient but, still, Court's been there all week."

"Okay, babe, whatever you want. You wanna take them to the zoo in Toledo? I mean, we can do an overnight or just go for the day."

Brittany nodded. "Yeah, I'll talk to Cindy tomorrow, see if she wants us to take the girls for the night. Give her and Chet a chance to go on a date or something. We can pick them up tomorrow and then go to the zoo Saturday morning?"

"That works if that's what you want, sweetheart. You okay?"

"Better, yeah. It just kinda caught me off guard." She shakes her head. "I was expecting something like 'your father wanted some of that special steak sauce from that one restaurant' or something equally ridiculous because that would be just like them, you know? Just … go somewhere on a whim."

Santana nodded. "Yeah. I get it. I remember them doing that when we were younger. Just pack Courtney in the car and have you stay with me or Quinn because we had Cheerios." Santana smiled.

"Yeah. Before that, they'd pack me into the car, too. I had to remind them that I had school. I usually missed a Monday or a Friday or both. I'm glad they at least left Courtney home so she didn't miss a week of school." She sighed.

"Come on. Let's relax and cuddle a bit." She moved to her side of the bed and then pulled Brittany into her arms.

Brittany cuddled into her side, her head on Santana's shoulder. Santana felt the girl relax into her embrace and kissed the top of her head before reaching over to turn out the bedside lamp.

They were quiet for awhile.

"Oh, you were telling me you saw Kurt?"

Santana smiled and filled Brittany in on her and Kurt's conversation.

"Wow. You really kind of opened up to him."

"I didn't really mean to but, I wanted him to really get what I was saying. I mean, he cheated on Blaine senior year and, yeah, it was 'only' an emotional cheat but that's bad enough. They managed to work through that; he goes to NYADA and Blaine actually cheat-cheats on him. Thing is, Kurt wasn't completely blameless. I'm not saying what Blaine did was right but Kurt wasn't answering calls, cutting calls short, not calling Blaine back … just, kind of, ignoring Blaine and not communicating and leaving Blaine wondering if Kurt had moved on. And, in a way, he kind of had. Not to a new guy but to a new life that didn't include his high school boyfriend. Then Blaine does this over-the-top proposal that just felt like a 'grand gesture', you know?" She pauses to consider what she's saying. "Do you remember one of the reasons I gave you for our 'unofficial' break-up?"

"You mean the 'energy exchange'?" Brittany snorted. "Still not sure what that means. Or … unofficial break-up."

Santana smiles and kisses the top of her head again. "I always believed we'd get back together. I always believed that we were meant to be and that we'd find our way back to one another. Unofficial was to give you an out if you found someone. Or if I did. I didn't want either of us to be in Kurt's position of emotionally cheating on the other. I would never do what Blaine did but ..." she paused and took a deep breath, "that energy exchange between me and the girl in the library made me realize how easy it would be to fall into a friendship that crossed a line. I don't have a better way to explain it."

She felt Brittany nod against her shoulder. "I actually get it. I mean, Sam and I were friends and then crossed a line. I wouldn't have acted on anything if we were together but … yeah, I can see how I may have fallen into an emotional cheat. He was there to listen when I couldn't reach you."

Santana nods. "Exactly. I wanted you to be free to be you. I was hurting you and that was the absolute last thing I wanted to do. I wanted us to still be friends … because I did believe we'd get back together. I love you. I've always loved you but I think it would have been a lot harder to put us back together if we ended badly."

Brittany leaned up and placed a soft kiss on the underside of Santana's jaw.

"I love you, too. Have I mentioned how happy I am?"

"You may have," Santana chuckled.

Brittany snuggled deeper into Santana's side. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"I don't think you even realize how much you talk to me now about feelings and stuff … and how much that means to me."

"Britt, I'm trying to be my best self and I don't want to do anything that would screw us up. And, honestly, I love talking to you. You really are my favorite person."

"You're my favorite person, too."

They fell silent and Santana felt Brittany get heavy in her arms and heard her deep and even breathing signaling that she had finally fallen asleep.
Santana followed her shortly after.

Chapter Text

Brittany was sitting in her room, her parents had just left after dropping a bombshell on her. Santana had gone to the gym, leaving Brittany some space to work on her latest project from MIT.

Okay, so she wasn't shocked to find out that Pierce wasn't her biological father. She hadn't really thought about it fully or given it any real consideration because, as far as she was concerned, he was her dad. She knew from biology that there was no way she could have been created from her mom and dad's DNA. Finding out Stephen Hawking was her biological father … THAT had been a shock.

She sighed and picked up the Euler Brick problem she was working on; she had about five days left to figure it out. She was almost there. She picked up her blue crayon and started to make a note when she stopped. 

Wait. If Stephen Hawking is my biological father and Stephen Hawking has ALS …

She got up from the bed and grabbed her laptop.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Santana walked into the Pierce house and said hello to Mama and Papa P before heading to their room to find Brittany.

Brittany was sitting on the bed, against the headboard, knees pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around them, tears streaming down her face. She looked utterly broken.

She hurried over and wrapped her arms around Brittany.

“Baby, what's wrong? Talk to me.”

“I can't marry you.”

Santana's heart sank. “What? Why? What did I do? How do I fix it? I love you, Britt.” Santana tried to stay calm but she knew the rapid fire questions were anything but.

“You didn't do anything. It's me.”

“I don't understand.”

Brittany took a deep breath. “You know how my dad and I look nothing alike?”

“Yeah. I mean, we never talk about it. You told me he's your dad, so, he's your dad.”

Brittany smiled wanly. “We both know genetically it wasn't really plausible for him to be my father. I didn't think anything of it. He's my dad.”

“Right.”

“Anyway. Mom and dad came to talk to me a little while ago. Turns out, he's not my real dad.”

“Okay, hold up, I'm gonna stop you right there. He may not be your biological father but he is your real dad. He's the one who taught you to ride a motorbike. He's the one who took you to the hospital after you fell off that motorbike. He's the guy who was at our competitions. He's your dad. I'm guessing your mom and dad told you who your bio-dad was?”

She nodded as the tears started up again.

“Okay … and for some reason, this is why you can't marry me?”

Brittany nodded again and started sobbing. Santana pulled Brittany's arms away from her knees and pulled Brittany into her lap, holding her closely, rubbing her back, and murmuring comforting sounds into her ear.

It took almost half an hour but, finally, Britt calmed down. Santana waited patiently for Brittany to start talking again; she didn't want to push, didn't want to send Britt into another crying jag. The was nothing she hated more in this world than seeing her Britt-Britt cry.

Brittany pulled away and tried to get off Santana's lap but Santana held her tight; whatever was going on, they would figure it out together.

Brittany sighed. She told Santana the story of how she was conceived.

“Turns out, mom had sex with Stephen Hawking on her honeymoon.”

Santana blanked for a moment. “Stephen Hawking? The … scientist guy? Like, theory of the world or something?”

Britt smiled again. “You're thinking of A Brief History of Time. Yeah. Him.”

“Okay …” Santana still didn't see the connection.

Britt looked so sad. 

“Baby … what is it?”

“He has ALS.”

Santana frowns. She knows she's heard of it but she doesn't really know what it is.

“Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It's a progressive neuro-degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Although not so much anymore because he died in 1941.” Brittany sounded like she was reciting something she found on a website. 

Santana nodded. She had heard about Lou Gehrig. He was a baseball player or something and … something about the disease causing him to retire.

“Santana, there's a five to ten percent chance that I could develop ALS. I … can't do that to you. I can't … I just …”

Santana frowned. She felt like she was missing some pretty vital pieces of information.

“Brittany, honey, if you have a five to ten percent chance of developing ALS … doesn't that mean you have a ninety to ninety five percent chance of NOT developing it? I'm no math genius but those seem like pretty good odds.”

“I can't risk it. If we get married and I do develop it, life expectancy is about three years. It depends on disease changes and the types of medical care chosen but … three years is average. I mean, Stephen Hawking lived fifty-five years after he was diagnosed but he's an exception.

“I can't saddle you with that. I can't let you throw your life away taking care of me. I … I …” she broke down again and Santana pulled her in tighter, running her hand up and down Britt's back and rocking her gently. Britt tried, briefly, to get out of her hold but Santana refused to let her go and Brittany finally just collapsed into her.

Santana maneuvered them into a lying down position, still holding Brittany tightly in her arms. She felt Britt go limp in her arms and heard the deep, even, breathing of sleep.

Santana held onto Britt but slid her phone out of her pocket and started to do some research.

Xoxoxoxoxo

It was almost three hours later when Brittany finally began to stir. At first, she was confused; she looked at Santana and her face dropped. Then she seemed to realize she was in Santana's arms and tried to disentangle herself but Santana wasn't having it. 

“Britt, stop. We need to talk.”

“There's nothing to talk about Santana.” Brittany shook her head. “I can't …”

“Hey. Listen to me for a minute, okay?”

Brittany nodded.

“So, while you were asleep, I did some searching. Did you know you have a couple of half-siblings? At least two, probably three. There's rumors that the third one isn't Stephen's but his ex-wife insists that he is. Anyway,” she waved a hand, that so wasn't important, “none of his children have ALS. Which means, you probably won't develop it either.”

Brittany started to protest.

“There's a simple blood, saliva, or cheek swab test. Results take two to three weeks. You have a ninety to ninety-five percent chance of not developing it. All the evidence seems to be that he had 'sporadic' childhood ALS.”

“Santana …”

“Britt,” Santana took a deep breath, “I don't care if you might develop ALS. If all we have is a couple of years, I'll take them.”

“But … I can't do that to you.”

Santana thought for a moment. “Britt … if I came to you and said that a new study showed that my breast implants have a twenty-five percent chance of causing cancer … and I tried to break up with you … would you leave me?”

“Of course not! Oh, my god, Santana! Is that true?”

“No, Britt, it's not. But think about how you just answered me. You wouldn't leave me even if I asked you to. What makes you think I love you any less than that? If you develop it then it's my privilege to take care of you. I would rather have you for three years if that's all I get than not have you at all. What are you going to do? Be alone for the rest of your life? No, Britt, I'm not letting you leave me. We made each other that promise.”

Brittany sighed.

“So. We'll get you whatever test we need to get you and we'll figure out what we need to do once we get the results. There are treatments that can help. People think Hawking had children's ALS which is why he developed it so young and why he was able to live so long. None of his other kids have it. I think I'll take those odds.”

Brittany was quiet for awhile.

“Santana … if I have it … I won't be able to have children. I don't want to risk passing it on to them. And … I know we haven't really talked about it … do you even want children?”

“With you? Absolutely.”

Brittany chuckled slightly. “Just with me?”

Santana loosened her hold and pulled back a little so she could look into Brittany's eyes. “Yes. Just with you. Having kids is a bigger commitment than marriage. I mean, think about it, if a marriage doesn't work out, you get divorced. You really can't divorce your kids. And even if you divorce your spouse, you still share those kids so you and your spouse need to trust each other to put the needs of the kids ahead of your own.”

She bit her lower lip as she thought about it. “I trust you, Britt. Completely. I don't think I could ever trust anyone the way I trust you. If we hadn't got back together, I probably wouldn't even think of having kids because it takes so long to build that kind of trust. By the time it was built and I got married, how old would I be? Would I even be able to have them? Or, if I could HAVE them, SHOULD I? Would I be too old to run around with them?” 

Santana shakes her head and shrugs. “Add to that the fact that I'd still be in love with you and it would take even longer for someone to get me to even try to open up and trust them. Who wants to work that hard? Knowing that my heart would always belong to someone else.

“So, yeah. With you. I want kids. With you.”

“If, um, I do test positive … I don't wanna wait to have them.”

Santana's whole body sighed with relief. Britt was still going to marry her. “Okay. Then we won't wait.”

Brittany pouts a bit and Santana lightly kisses her forehead. “What's the pout for?”

“I really wanted to have kids, like be pregnant and stuff,” she said sadly.

“Then you can have my kids.”

“What?” Brittany looked confused.

“We'll use my eggs, get a tall, blond haired, blue-eyed, dancing genius as the donor and implant them into you. That way, you aren't contributing the DNA but you're having my baby.”

Brittany looked at Santana like she hung the moon.

“Really? You'd … you'd wanna do that?”

Santana looked at her seriously. “Britt, I would do anything for you. Anything to make you happy. Anything to not see you cry like that. I love you more than words will ever express. Love doesn't even seem like a big enough word for how I feel about you.”

Brittany smiled at her and Santana couldn't help but smile back.

“I love you so much, Santana, I just … I didn't want you to feel trapped with an invalid wife.”

Santana leaned up and kissed Brittany softly. “I would never feel trapped with you, Britt. When I'm with you is when I feel the freest.”

Brittany smiled again and leaned in to kiss Santana.

“So, just so I'm clear,” Santana looked at Britt, “we're still getting married?

“As long as you still want to?” Brittany sounded a little hesitant.

“Of course I do!”

“Oh, good.”

Santana leaned back up and kissed Brittany. It wasn't passionate; simply letting Brittany know that she's loved unconditionally.

Chapter Text

(October 19)

Maribel POV

She watched from the window as her daughter sat in her car in the driveway, apparently uncertain as to whether she wanted to come in or not. Maribel sighed, realizing that Raphael's car was in the driveway. She hit her speed dial to connect to Santana.

“Hello?”

“He's not here, mija, he's out of town until next week. Stop sitting in your car and come in.”

“Okay, thanks, mami.” 

Maribel watched as Santana got out of the car and walked slowly up the driveway. She met her at the door and pulled her into a tight hug.

“What's wrong, mi corazon?”

Santana broke down crying in her mother's arms; Maribel was alarmed, Santana doesn't show strong emotion unless it's anger.

She pulled Santana into the house and into the living room, hugging her tightly.

It took about twenty minutes to calm her girl down; she kept running her hands up and down Santana's back and cooing softly in her ear.

When Santana sat back, her face was a study in abject misery. Maribel handed her a box of tissues from the end table.

“I'm going to go get you some water. Unless you'd like something else?”

“Water is fine, mami, thank you.” Santana's voice was hoarse from crying but she seemed to be pulling herself together.

Maribel went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water for Santana and one for herself as well.

When she got back to the living room, Santana had collected herself and smiled wanly at her mother.

“Sorry for that.”

“Mija, you don't have to apologize for that. Do you want to talk about it?”

Santana sniffled, opened her water, and took a long drink before nodding.

“Yesterday, I took Brittany to a geneticist. Turns out her biological father is Stephen Hawking and she's worried she could develop ALS. There's like a ten percent chance she will. I've been trying to be positive and strong for her … but, mami, I'm scared. What if … “ her lower lip trembled and she fought back the tears. “I don't want to think about living without her, mami. I just … I have all these plans for the future and they all start with her. She's my person. She's my everything.” A few errant tears slipped free.

Maribel was stunned trying to process everything.

“Oh, mija,” her voice was soft and sympathetic. “I don't know what to say. I am sorry you and Brittany are going through this. But,” she continued, “you said there's a ten percent chance she could develop it; that means there's a ninety percent chance she won't. So hold onto that thought. What did the doctor do and say?”

“He took a cheek swab and some blood samples. He said it's gonna be about three weeks to get the results.” She sighs softly. “Brittany tried to cancel the wedding on me. I'm worried if she finds out she's definitely got the mutated gene she'll leave me. Mami, I ...”

Maribel hugged her again. “I know, mija, I know. Whatever happens, I'm here for you both. I will help however I can. I love you both, mija.”

“Thank you, mami.”

They talked for a bit longer then Santana left to go pick up Brittany from the dance studio.

Maribel sat for a long while after Santana left before finally going to her office and starting up her computer to do her own research. She was suddenly very angry at Raphael because she could not rely on his support for this.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

(November 4)

Brittany knocked on the door frame of Courtney's room.

“Court? Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Courtney looked up from her homework and nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”

Brittany sat on the bed and motioned for Courtney to join her. Once she did, Brittany took her hand and looked at her.

“Court … when I told you Santana and I were getting married, you seemed pretty happy about it.”

“I am! I love Santana!”

Brittany nodded. “Okay … I was just wondering … I know Santana is pretty well known because of that stupid ad … are you having any trouble at school because of me and Santana?”

Courtney shook her head. “No. When it first happened, when the ad first showed up, one of the guys in my class said something about Santana. I told him to shut up and he asked me if I was a dyke too,” Brittany flinched,  “I told him it was none of his business and he needed to just shut up. He didn't and he went to shove me so I kicked him in the nads.” Courtney shrugged. “Then I told everyone that had gathered around that I knew Santana and she was awesome and if anyone had a problem with my sister's girlfriend to keep it to themselves; I had no problem cutting a bitch.” Courtney smiled.

Brittany shook her head. “Santana has had way too much influence on you.”

Courtney shrugged. “I got into it when I was, like, seven or eight because someone was giving me a hard time about my slanted eyes. You were in the shower one day when I got home. Santana saw my ripped shirt and scraped up knees, hands, and split lip. She asked what happened and I told her so she cleaned me up then taught me a few things. That's why I asked mom and dad to sign me up for Tae-Kwon-Do, so I could learn to defend myself. Santana told me that violence wasn't the only answer but sometimes you had to stand up for yourself or people weaker or smaller than you.”

Brittany nodded. “Okay, I just wanted to check. I'm sorry I didn't know you were having trouble back then.”

Courtney smiled. “Britt, you were dealing with Santana being outed. Santana helped me and, I think, it probably helped her, too. Gave her something else to think about, you know? The following week I kicked Derrick in the nads and everyone kind of is scared of me … I have my friends and stuff and they know I'm not really a fighter but,” she shrugs again, “reputation is everything, right? I have a reputation as not taking shit so … I guess people figure it's not worth starting with me.”

Brittany just shakes her head and makes a mental note to talk to Santana.

“Okay, everything else okay? Homework and stuff? Got a boyfriend? Girlfriend?”

Courtney laughed and shoved her sister. “Homework is fine, no boyfriend, no girlfriend.”

“Just checking. So, I have a question. This is not a demand, you can say no and I won't be hurt or upset or anything, okay?”

Courtney scrunched her nose in confusion.

“I wanted to ask if you'd like to be my maid of honor or a bridesmaid?”

She watched as Courtney's eyes widened in horror and her breathing picked up. “Like, wear a dress and stand up in front of everyone?”

Brittany nodded and gently stroked her thumb over Courtney's knuckles to soothe her. “It's okay to say no. I know you may not be comfortable doing it but I didn't want you to think I didn't want you to do it.”

Courtney's breathing slowed again and she nodded, the tension leaving her. “No, Britty, I really don't want to. Not because I don't love you,” she quickly added.

Brittany smiled. “I know. Oh, if you want to ask Jessica to come, that's fine. I don't think there'll be a lot of kids there … not that you're a kid-kid, just …”

Courtney laughed. “I get it Britt. I'll ask her.”

Brittany stood up and kissed the top of Courtney's head. “I'll let you get back to your homework. If you need anything, just let me know, okay? Even if you just need to talk or something.”

Courtney nodded and moved back to her desk, immediately getting engrossed in her assignment. Brittany smiled and slipped out, gently closing the door behind her.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Brittany went downstairs and took the right at the bottom of the stairs to go into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. She had just opened the fridge when her phone rang. Looking at the number, she froze for a moment; it was the geneticist's office. She finally managed to answer on the fourth ring.

“Hello?”

“Hello, I'm calling for Brittany S. Pierce.”

“This is she.”

“Miss Pierce, this is Dr. Abrigo's office. Your test results have come in and the doctor would like you to come in tomorrow to discuss the results.”

“Um, yeah, that's fine, okay … um, what time?”

“I have a ten-a.m. appointment available.”

“Okay, that's fine. We'll be there. Thank you.”

“We'll see you then, Miss Pierce. Have a good day.”

Once the call disconnected Brittany's legs started to give out and she collapsed into a chair, staring blankly into space.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Santana got out of the shower and got dressed. She knew Britt had gone to talk to Courtney so she had waited for the blonde in their room.

After half an hour, she got concerned and went up to Courtney's room.

She knocked on the door and waited for Courtney to give her permission to enter.

Poking her head in she saw that Brittany wasn't there. “Hey, Court, did you talk to your sister?”

“Um, yeah, she left about,” she looked at the clock on her computer, “twenty minutes ago.”

“Thanks, Court,” Santana frowned and shut the door, wondering where her girl had gone. 

She walked downstairs and called for her but didn't get any answer. She wasn't in the living room so Santana headed for the kitchen.

She found Brittany sitting at the kitchen table staring into space.

“Britt, honey, what's going on?”

Brittany just looked at her blankly.

Santana pulled a chair up next to the blonde and caressed her cheek. “Baby, where are you? What happened?” Santana took hold of her hand and kept lightly stroking her cheek.

Brittany blinked a couple of times and looked at Santana. “Um, the geneticist's office called,” her voice was small and shaky, “I have an appointment at ten o'clock tomorrow morning.”

Santana took in the information and gave a tug on Brittany's hand, pulling the girl into her lap and holding her tightly.

“Okay. So tomorrow we'll have the answers and we'll figure out where to go from there. It's going to be okay, Britt. We're going to get through this like we get through everything … together.” She whispered against Brittany's temple. “I love you. No matter what he says tomorrow, no matter what happens. I will always love you. Always.”

Brittany nodded and sighed, finally leaning into Santana's embrace.

It was going to be a long day.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Brittany didn't sleep much that night. She was scared and nervous. The uncertainty was making her stomach hurt. She tried to get out of bed so she wouldn't disturb Santana but Santana wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

“I've got you. It's going to be okay. One way or another, everything will be okay. I love you, Britt. Hold onto that, okay?” Santana's voice was soft and slightly slurred.

Brittany sighed and curled into Santana's embrace. As usual, the Latina comforted her and made her feel safe.

In the morning, she got up and showered and was ready at eight.

“Did you eat anything?” Santana asked as she came out of the bedroom at eight-thirty.

“Can't.”

“Okay.” 

“We need to leave soon, right?”

“Yeah. We might as well leave now. Make sure we don't get stuck in traffic or whatever.”

Brittany just nodded. She felt numb. Just completely numb; the anxiety had been replaced by a cold numbness.

Santana took her hand and led her out to the car.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Santana held Brittany's hand; on the way to the car, in the car, on the way into the doctor's office, in the waiting room, and, now, in the doctor's office, waiting for the doctor to come in. She wouldn't let go; she wanted to make sure Brittany knew, KNEW, that Santana was there and wasn't going anywhere.

Brittany was eerily calm. 

Doctor Abrigo finally came in; it was probably only five minutes but it felt like years. He was a short man with a fringe of graying hair circling a bald dome. He wasn't heavy, but he wasn't thin. 

“Sorry for the wait, how are you both?”

They both just nodded at him. He smiled in understanding.

He sat behind his desk and turned to his computer; he typed a few things in and looked back at them through thick, black framed glasses.

“Miss Pierce?”

Brittany looked up at the doctor from where she was watching her fingers playing with a few stray threads on her worn in jeans.

“The results are negative. The tests show no anomalies or mutations. The gene for ALS is not present.”

Santana almost collapsed with relief. She wrapped her arms around the blonde, who hadn't reacted yet. She turned to Santana.

“I'm okay?” she asked quietly, tears in her eyes.

Santana nodded and pulled Britt in close, kissing her temple. 

“You're okay, baby. Everything is okay,” she whispered against Brittany's temple. 

Brittany finally turned into Santana's embrace and Santana felt the tears on her shoulder. Santana looked over at the doctor and mouthed 'thank you'. Dr. Abrigo nodded with a kindly smile. 

A moment later, Brittany lifted her head and looked at the doctor. 

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“You're welcome. I'm glad I could deliver good news.” He smiled at the blonde. “Do you have any questions?”

Brittany looks at Santana.

“I don't think I do, Britt.” The Latina said, shaking her head.

Brittany looks back at the doctor. “Is there anything in the results I should be concerned about?”

The doctor shakes his head. “Everything appears to be normal. Genetically speaking. I see nothing here to be concerned about.”

Brittany nods. “Thank you. I think I'm good.” She and Santana stood up and shook the doctor's hand, thanking him again.

When they got out to the car, Brittany threw her arms around Santana and swung her around.

“I'm okay! I'm gonna be okay! I can still dance and marry you and have kids and live forever!”

Santana laughed as Brittany swung her around. “Britt! I'm getting dizzy!”

Brittany set her down and kissed her hard; Santana immediately reciprocated.

When they pulled apart Santana smiled. “I love you. I'm glad you're okay but, um, Britt? We're still not vampires, we're not going to live forever,” she chuckled.

Brittany grinned. “But I get to live with you forever. We get our forever together.”

Santana pecked her lips. “Yes, we do. Come on, let's get something to eat, you have to be hungry, you didn't eat this morning.”

“Starving. Neither did you.”

“So, let's get something to eat.”

“Thank you, Santana, for … everything. For going with me, for standing by me, for not letting me go.”

“Always.”

Chapter Text

(November 9)

Brittany knew she was taking a chance going to see Alma. Maybe Alma would remember Santana's “friend” Brittany; maybe Alma wouldn't let her in; maybe Santana would be mad … no, Santana would DEFINITELY be mad. 

She sighed as she pulled into Alma's driveway. Lima Heights. She shook her head as she remembered the stories Santana told her about Lima Heights and Alma. She looked around; the area seemed a little worn out but not dangerous. Yards and homes were well-kept and there were kids playing in a yard a couple of houses down. Santana is sometimes ridiculous.

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, put on a positive attitude, walked up the steps to the front door, and rang the bell.

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Well, that went better than she had hoped for; Alma didn't put two and two together and figure out she was Santana's Brittany. Tomorrow, Alma would come on Fondue for Two … or Queso Por Dos, she grinned as she thought of the big check she'd gotten from Univision. She hadn't figured out all the ins and outs of the “new” show but, she'd get there; Alma would be her first guest. She knew Santana would be out of the house to give Brittany space to film. She also knew Santana well enough to know she'd watch the livestream while she was out. 

Her plan was to be asleep before Santana got home and leave in the morning before Santana got up; not that she was afraid of Santana, exactly, she just wanted to postpone the argument she knew was going to come.

Okay, maybe she was a little afraid of Santana; not that Santana would hurt her or even really 'yell' but Brittany really hated confrontation and confrontations with Santana were the absolute worst. She would just rather they have their argument during the day rather than just before bed.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

(November 11)

“So, how are we going to do this?” Santana asked as she pulled out of the hug.

“I was thinking,” Brittany said, “that we enlist the Glee Club and have them help us. I think you should sing. Show her that you're still you and, now that she knows me, maybe she'll see that love is love, you know?”

Santana nodded. “Yeah. Okay. What song?”

“Well, the Glee Club is doing Burt Bacharach so, maybe one of his songs would be good?”

“Alfie. It has to be Alfie. I believe in love, Alfie … “she sang. “It's perfect.”

Brittany hummed a bit of it then nodded. “Yeah. It is.”

They walked down the hallway to go talk to the Glee Club about helping them set  up the performance.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

(November 13)

They stood there in silence after Alma left. Brittany was crushed; she was trying to be strong for Santana, to not cry as Santana leaned against her. She just couldn't believe Alma had rejected Santana … again. And it was her fault. Brittany had pushed for this, had believed it would work and it hadn't. Now Santana was hurting and it was Brittany's fault.

Santana pulled slightly away, without letting go of Brittany's hand, and turned toward the blonde. She looked sad and tired.

“Let's go home?”

Brittany nodded and they walked quietly out of the auditorium.

The ride home was quiet, each girl lost in her own thoughts. Getting ready for bed was a quiet affair as well. Brittany just didn't know what to say.

They climbed into bed and Brittany wrapped her arms around the brunette.

“I'm sorry,” she said softly.

“For what?”

“It's my fault. I shouldn't have pushed. I should have just left it alone and … I thought it'd be okay, I thought … I just wanted you to be happy and have your abuela at the wedding and back in your life.”

Santana lifted up on one elbow and looked at Brittany. “Hey. Wait. I am happy. You make me happy.” She gently caressed Brittany's cheek. “You did what you thought was a good thing; there's nothing to apologize for. I meant what I said; if having you in my life means not having her, that's a trade I'll take any day. I told you; I choose you, every time.” She leaned in and kissed Brittany softly. “I love you, Britt, you did what you did because you love me. How can I be mad about that?” She smiled softly and draped herself over the blonde, placing her head on Brittany's heart.

“Your heart is racing.”

“Anytime you're around or, you know, when I think about you.” Brittany smiled to herself as she wrapped her arms tightly around the Latina. She felt Santana's smile against her chest.

“I always feel so safe, so loved, when I'm in your arms, Britt. This is where I want to always be and if my abuela can't understand that,” she shook her head, “then I'm better off without her.” She snuggled down further into Brittany's embrace and fell silent.

Brittany was awake long after Santana's breathing evened out and became deeper. She knew Santana meant what she said but … she couldn't help but feel guilty. Sleep eluded her for a long time that night.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

(November 18)

“You guys are the best,” Santana exclaimed as the Glee Club crowded around her and Brittany.

She smiled at Mercedes and pulled her into a tight hug. “Thanks, 'Cedes.”

“Girl, you know I got you. Troubletones for life.” Mercedes grinned at the Latina.

They were milling around talking and Santana separated from the group and went to crouch down next to Artie.

“Hey,” she wasn't sure how to approach this but 'hey' seemed like a good start.

“Hey,” the boy smiled at her, “I hope this was okay. I know, I mean, with what happened and everything …”

“This was more than okay. Thank you for reminding me that family isn't just your blood; it's the people who show up when things go to hell. So, thank you.”

He smiled and nodded. “You're welcome.”

She shifted a little uncomfortably. “Artie … I know we never really talked about what happened junior year …”

“Hey, Santana,” he interrupted, “that was a lifetime ago, you know? Time and distance has kind of given me perspective on everything. Yeah, it hurt but … her heart was never in it. She loved me, I know that … in her own quirky fashion. But when she asked me to be your wedding planner, she acted like she didn't remember that we dated.“ He grinned and shook his head. “Four years ago, that would have cut deep … but now? I get it. So, no worries. Life has a way of working out the way it's supposed to.”

Santana placed a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Artie, really.”

“Any time, Santana.”

She stood up and looked around for Brittany. The blonde was talking to Sam so she made her way over there.

“Hi, honey,” Brittany greeted her fiancee. “Everyone is going out to grab some pizza. You wanna join them?” 

Santana smiled. She could tell her girl really wanted to go. “Yeah, sure,” she nodded her acquiescence and was rewarded with a toothy grin.

“Hey, guys, I'm heading home.” Mr. Schue announced. “See you all on Friday for 'Friendsgiving'.” He smiled and waved as he exited.

The rest of the group headed out to the parking lot to their cars.

“Where to?” Santana asked as she got in the driver's seat.

“Giovanni's on tenth.”

Santana nodded and leaned over to kiss her girl.

“I love you,” the blonde said, smiling.

“I love you, too. Always.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

(November 21)

They were getting ready for bed after Mr. Schue's 'Friendsgiving'. They'd had an enjoyable evening; everyone seemed to be in good spirits and on good terms. It looked like even Kitty and Artie had managed a truce.

Emma had fawned over Brittany's ring and Brittany had watched as Santana talked to Mr. Schue while playing with Daniel. She was going to be a good mom someday and Brittany couldn't wait.

She looked at the Latina who looked dead on her feet. Brittany thought about it for a moment. Santana always seemed to be so much more tired after something like that; a crowded party of people not even necessarily drinking. While Santana seemed tired after a party, Brittany was amped up; she felt like she could go all night.

She slipped into bed and wrapped her arms around her pretty brunette fiancee.

“You look tired, honey.”

Santana nodded. “Just being around all those people seems to wear me out.” She yawned. “Not that I didn't have fun but … you think we can just be us for the next couple of days. You know, before the Pierce Family Holiday Extravaganza begins?”

“Absolutely, honey. We've got nothing to do … other than, you know, wedding stuff.”

“We need to finalize the guest list and talk to the caterer. Make appointments for cake tasting. There's so much to do.” Santana yawned again.

“We'll get it done. But, it's the weekend, maybe we'll just lie low for Saturday and Sunday … let you recharge? The Pierce Family Holiday Extravaganza starts next Wednesday; let's give it a couple of days.”

Santana nodded. “'kay” Her voice was soft and Brittany could feel Santana getting heavy in her arms. 

She kissed the Latina's forehead and held her close. “I love you.”

“Love you, too. Always.” She said as she drifted off to sleep, Brittany not far behind.

Chapter Text

January 2, 2015

Maribel, Whitney, and Artie were talking about the barn and what would/could be done about the wedding and reception.

Santana had pulled Brittany aside. “You okay?”

“Just thinking … all those times my mom yelled 'were you born in a barn' for leaving the door open … I could have said yes.” Brittany just looked blankly at Santana. “I mean, seriously? Stephen Hawking. Handcrafted Amish ELECTRIC fireplaces. A barn. A little cow. A Mr. Submarine wrapper. What … I don't even know how to process all of this, San.”

“Oh, honey.” Santana pulled Brittany into a hug.

“Do you really want to get married here, San?” She asked quietly. “I mean … it's a barn.”

“Honestly, Britt?” Santana pulls back and looks into those beautiful ocean blues. “I don't care. As long as, when the day is over, I can say 'there's my wife' … I'm good. The where, when, how … don't really matter a whole lot to me. I just wanna marry you.”

Brittany just sighed. “I love you.”

“I think, honestly, it'll be fine. Artie and my mom and Kurt … all of them will work to make sure everything is perfect. We're about two and a half hours from Lima so we should see if there's a hotel willing to give us a deal on a block of rooms. And, maybe we can spend a couple of days here after the wedding and do some exploring.”

Brittany smiled and nodded. “Okay. If you're okay with all of this.”

Santana leaned in and kissed her softly. “At the end of the day, as long as there are rings on our fingers saying I'm yours and you're mine, I'm good.”

xoxoxoxoxoxo

They had found a beautiful Inn about half an hour away from the barn and, since it was the off-season, they were given a really good deal on a block of twenty rooms. 

They were a little afraid that, when they booked the honeymoon suite for themselves, the Inn would cancel the deal but the woman at the desk didn't even blink. She smiled and gave them the rate and asked if they wanted to hold any of the rooms in the block. They put a hold on one for Santana's mother and one for Whitney, Pierce, and Courtney. The others would be first come, first serve.

While they were there, they booked two suites of rooms for themselves and the friends who would be helping get the barn cleaned up and decorated. They booked the suites for January ninth through the twelfth and again from February thirteenth through the sixteenth.

They left Shipshewana and headed back to Lima after making sure the elderly owner of the barn was okay with them having the wedding there. He and his wife were more than happy to give them the use of the barn, free of charge, since they were going to clean it up before and after.

Now that they had the venue, they could start making plans for catering, flowers, invitations, dresses, rings, and the cake. Artie had already promised to take care of the music.

The drive back to Lima was fairly quiet; Maribel and Whitney were in the front seat chatting quietly while Santana dozed on Brittany's shoulder and Artie wrote plans in his “Wedding Planner's Notebook”.

The day had been … eye-opening, to say the least, and Brittany wasn't sure what to make of everything. Then she looked to her left and saw Santana's head on her shoulder and realized … none of it mattered; Santana and she were getting married and that was all that did matter.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

January 3, 2015

Santana and Brittany got up early and headed out to find a stationery store that handled invitations. The first two refused to help them because it was a same-sex marriage; Santana unleashed Snixx and her vicious words left behind several fear-and-tear filled people.

“Damn idiots,” she muttered as they pulled into the third store.

“San … take a deep breath. We don't want to go into this place ready to tear people apart before they've even had a chance to say anything. Third time's a charm, right?”

Santana nodded and took a deep breath, leaned over the center console and pecked Brittany's lips.

They exited the car and walked into the shop. It was smaller than the other two but felt … comfortable. There was an older man with gray hair hunched over a desk at the left rear of the shop and an older woman with brown hair shot through with gray manning the front counter on the right hand side.

The woman smiled at them. “Can I help you ladies?”

Brittany smiled at the woman. “We hope so. We, um, need wedding invitations.”

“For the two of you?”

“Yes.” Brittany's answer was a bit tentative.

“Do you know what you're looking for?” The woman's smile softened at Brittany's hesitation.

Brittany's smile widened a bit when the woman didn't dismiss them. She shook her head. “Not really?”

The woman stepped from behind the counter and led them to library table with several large photo-type albums on it.

“I'm Gert. That's my husband Jeremy.”

“I'm Brittany, this is Santana.”

Gert nodded and tilted her head and narrowed her eyes in thought, looking at Santana, Brittany braced herself for the inevitable … that never came.  Gert didn't ask about the ad simply nodded to herself, as though she'd solved a puzzle, and smiled again.

“Everything we have are in these albums. There's a lot of them. So let me ask you a few questions and see if we can't narrow it down, hm?” She gestured for them to take a seat and she sat across from them.

“How long have you been together?”

“On and off … about six and half years. We've been best friend since we were fourteen.” Brittany answered.

The woman nodded and discarded a few of the albums.

“First marriage for both of you?”

They both nodded and the woman removed two more of the albums; still leaving over ten of them. The woman pulled two from the stack of ten.

“Start with these, I think they'll most likely have something you'll be happy with. Call me over if you find something or if you get through them and haven't found anything.” She smiled again and got up to go man the front counter again.

They leafed through the first book page-by-page, commenting on a few they liked, but nothing really grabbed them. It was on the third page of the second book that they both gasped.

“Brittany …”

“Santana ...”

They both pointed to an ecru invitation with brown ink and a slightly ragged edge. The ink was of two hands with linked pinkies and a thin red thread wrapped around their wrists in the infinity symbol. The lettering said “This day I will marry my best friend. The one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love.”

They looked at each other. “That's it.” They said to one another.

They both broke into big grins. It was perfect.

“Gert?” Brittany called to the woman.

She came bustling back over. “Found something?”

They pointed to the invitation and Gert smiled brightly. “I had a feeling,” she said.

She opened a drawer on the table and they set about filling in the form with the proper inside information and the names to be imprinted on the infinity symbol.  They decided to order two hundred and fifty even though they were pretty sure they wouldn't need that many. They put half down for a deposit and were promised they'd be ready for pick-up by January seventh. They smiled brightly and thanked Gert again as they walked, hand-in-hand, back out to the car; their steps a tad lighter having found, not only someone to print their invitations, the perfect invitations.

Xoxoxoxoxo

They stopped at a small diner for lunch.

“Okay, so, when we get back we need to finalize the guest list and make sure we have all the addresses we need.” Santana said. “I'll have to call my mom about some of my aunts and uncles and cousins. Well, the ones that are still speaking to me.” She sighed.

Brittany bit her bottom lip as she looked at Santana. Santana waited. 

“Um …” Brittany sighed, “do you maybe want to send an invitation to your abuela?”

Santana shook her head. “No. She made her choice and she made it clearly. I … I don't want to send it only to have her return it unopened.” Her voice faltered a little.

Brittany nodded and squeezed Santana's hand gently. “Okay. I just wanted to check. What about Quinn?”

“Yeah, we'll send her one. It sucks that she can't be there but I get it. That study abroad thing is an amazing opportunity and it was set up before we decided to get married. I'd have said we'd wait until she gets back but … that puts us really close to summer session if we get into school and what if she gets an offer to stay?” Santana shrugged. “We'll send her the video or watch it with her when she gets back or something. It almost feels wrong to get married without her.”

Brittany smiled. “Yeah.” She hesitated. “Your dad?”

Santana shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. Not unless or until he apologizes to you for real. Mom will get an invite and she'll know he isn't welcome if he hasn't apologized to you.”

Brittany nods. “Okay, honey. Anyone else we want or don't want?”

Santana shrugged. “No one I can think of off the top of my head.”

They talked about wedding stuff while they ate before finally heading home.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

(time jump from January 3 to January 9)

January 9 – 12

January 9

Brittany walked into the room she and Santana were sharing and found all the lights off; Santana was lying on the bed, an arm over her face and a throw blanket draped over her legs.

Brittany walked into the bathroom, came out with two painkillers, and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. She sat on the edge of the bed.

“Here, baby, take these.” She offered the meds and the water to her brunette.

Santana moved her arm and slightly sat up, taking the pills and the water. “How did you know?”

“Foremost expert ...” Brittany smiled softly.

Santana chuckled and flopped back on the bed, her arm finding its way back over her eyes.  

Brittany slipped in next to her and laid her head on Santana's shoulder; Santana's free arm automatically wrapped around Britt's shoulders.

“Wanna talk about it?”

Santana sighed. “People suck. Snixx was busy today. 

“Went to four catering companies; the first three refused to talk to me because we're same-sex. The fourth one was booked for our weekend but he was a really nice guy and gave me a card for a newer company. Told me to tell the woman who owns it that he sent me over and she'd help us out. She was really sweet. We're meeting with her at eleven-thirty tomorrow morning for tasting and menu selection.

“Then it was two homophobic bakeries. Thankfully, the third one was more than happy to work with us. We're going there at three-thirty to do the tastings and decide on design.

“The first florist I went to didn't even blink when I told him we were same-sex. Of course, I'm pretty sure he's gay. We're meeting with him at one day after tomorrow. How was your day?”

Brittany winced. “Um, I had a bit of a freak out. I was convinced the barn was going to collapse and kill everyone.”

Santana stifled a chuckle. “Britt …”

“Yeah, I know. Then I was thinking about how we haven't had final fittings … then I remembered that we haven't even gone dress shopping at all yet. And Martina Navratilova can't officiate but Kurt said his father can do it so he's going to talk to Burt for us. I did get to troll Kurt and Tina a little bit though, so that was fun and relieved some stress.”

“Okay. So, catering – oh, the caterer will do beverage service as well – cake, flowers, and officiant will be set up in the next couple of days,” Santana listed off, “invitations are already out and RSVPs are starting to come in. We'll need to … shit … I forgot about a photographer. Maybe the caterer, baker, or florist can point us in the right direction. I really don't want to deal with any more idiots.”

Brittany sighed and snuggled in closer. “So, dresses, bridesmaid dresses, the guys can all wear white jackets and black ties.  We need to find rings. Anything else?”

“Nothing I can think of. How does the barn look?”

“It's actually starting to look really good. Kurt and Artie rented some stained-glass windows to fit in the open window spaces. The tulle looks good with the fairy lights. I think … I think it's going to look just how I wanted. Like heaven.” She tipped her face up and kissed the underside of Santana's jaw. “For my angel.”

Santana chuckled.

“You feeling any better?”

“Well enough to go get some dinner if you want.”

“Sounds good.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

January 10 – 12 

They met with the caterer the following day and the food was amazing. Santana was surprised at how good it was. They set the menu and gave the woman a deposit before going to meet with the baker.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The baker was ready for them with dozens of tasty treats. They settled on a vanilla cake with raspberry filling on the bottom and top tiers, with marbled yellow/chocolate in the center two tiers. All the tiers would have buttercream frosting. They also ordered a variety of cupcakes, cookies, and pastries for later in the evening. They gave him a deposit and spent the rest of the day just wandering around the town of Shipshewana.

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

The next day they met with the florist who was incredibly helpful. He knew so much about flowers and arrangements and which would hold up best throughout the day. They asked him about a photographer and he mentioned that his partner had a studio so they were able to solve that problem. He called his partner, who came right over, and they were able to set up what they wanted in terms of pictures and video. They left the flower shop happy, having given both the florist and photographer deposits.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

When they left for Lima the following morning, they were feeling pretty good about how much they had gotten accomplished. When they came back to Shipshewana in February, almost everything would be done; they would just have to finish the barn and touch base with their vendors.

They were a little tired but at least they were no longer completely overwhelmed with everything they needed to get done.

Chapter Text

February 19

Santana was pacing the suite she was sharing with her mother. She hated the “tradition” of the bride and bride not seeing each other before the wedding. Who even heard of that? She knew why brides and grooms were kept apart and that tradition started LONG before gay marriage was even considered. Hell, it was long before gay people were even acknowledged as existing. Brittany's superstitions, sometimes silly, sometimes adorable, sometimes gave her a headache. Although, to be fair, she'd been (sort of) right about Friday the thirteenth – The Attack On Lesbos had happened on Friday the thirteenth, after all. Santana rolled her eyes at herself. Honestly.

She knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep; not because she was nervous or scared or getting cold feet. Simply because she never slept as well without Brittany anymore.

“Santana, stop pacing, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet.”

Santana sighed and flopped onto the couch. Brittany was in her parents' suite with Whitney, Pierce, and Courtney. Two floors separated them. Two lousy floors. She huffed out an exasperated breath and checked her phone; it was almost ten.

“I'm going to bed.” She announced.

She kissed her mother on the cheek and told her she'd see her in the morning before closing herself in her room. She tried reading; that didn't work. She took a warm bath; nothing. At eleven-thirty she gave in.

To: My Soon-to-be-WIFE
2 – 19 – 15 11:28pm
Are you awake? I miss you.

From: My Soon-to-be-WIFE
2 – 19 – 15 11:31pm
Of course I am. I can't sleep without you. :(

Santana hit the speed dial.

“Hi, honey,” the sweet sound of Brittany's sleepy voice warmed her.

“Hi, baby, I just needed to hear your voice. I can't sleep without you. I tried reading and a bath but … I just miss you.” Santana sighed.

“I miss you, too. But … just think … this time tomorrow … you'll be my WIFE!” Brittany practically squealed.

Santana giggled. “I can't wait. I can't wait to see you and kiss you and hold you and dance with you … and I really can't wait to marry you. I love you so much Britt.”

“I love you, too, Santana. So, so much.”

They stayed on the phone for a little while, not really even talking, just listening to the other breathe until they were both calm and drowsy enough to fall asleep after promising each other they'd see each other tomorrow.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February 20

“Britt, are you really sure about this?” Santana asked after Sue had left. Sue had come to them with a really hare-brained idea … telling them they didn't have to do it … but Santana didn't really trust that the woman wouldn't do something to disrupt their day if they didn't go along with it. She was grateful to Sue for getting her abuela to come to the wedding but suspected that Sue did that, not out of the kindness of her heart, but because she wanted to get them to agree to this ridiculous plan.

Brittany nodded. “Yeah. I know my superstitions might be silly but … this way Blaine and Kurt get all our bad luck.” She grinned. “Half of all marriages end in divorce; so we give them all our bad luck and they're the half of today that fails, right?”

Santana snorted a laugh. “If you say so, Britt.” Santana had absolutely no fear of their own marriage failing. “I just hate the idea of them crashing our wedding and it being about them. Especially since, neither of us really cares for Blaine and neither of us thinks he's good enough for Kurt.”

Brittany shrugged. “That's the thing, though, really. It's still our wedding. Our choices of colors and cake and decorations. Our guests, our gifts. It's our day. I mean, the only people here for Blaine and Kurt are Pam, Carole, and Burt. Sure, the Glee gang is here but Blaine's brother isn't, his father isn't. None of Kurt's family is here. All they get to do is exchange vows.”

Brittany paused and Santana waited for Brittany's real reason.

Brittany sighed. “Besides, Kurt is young enough to recover if this fails. Just like they don't know our relationship, we don't know theirs. But, instead of spending the next five or ten years on this back and forth stuff they've been doing since they met, they get married and one of two things happens; they live happily ever after or they get divorced in two years and Kurt can finally move on.”

Santana nodded. That, at least, made a little bit of sense. She had told Kurt that no one knows what goes on in someone else's relationship. Who was she to judge if Blaine was good enough for Kurt or not?

“Britt … you realize they can't really get married, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“They don't have a license. Even with everything Sue thought about; tuxes, rings, crashing our wedding by bringing my abuela … she can't get them a marriage license. The county clerk's office closes at four; they don't have time to go and get one before the ceremony. So, for them, this is more of a commitment ceremony.”

“Do you think Sue thought of that?”

“I don't know but I'm not bringing it up today. We'll eventually have to, maybe nonchalantly, ask them if they ever got their license and let them figure it out from there.”

Brittany grins. “See? Our bad luck is already running over to them.”

Santana giggled.

They heard Sue, Kurt, and Blaine coming so Santana moved to wait behind the privacy screen while Brittany tried to convince “Klaine” that they should get married today.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

After they were pronounced wife and wife, Santana felt an immense sense of peace settle over her. She looked at her wife … her wife! … and smiled broadly.

They were greeting their guests, thanking people for coming, when they were enveloped in a tight hug.

“I am so happy for you guys!”

They pulled back and both squealed in delight. “QUINN!” They hugged her close again.

“I thought you were in France?” Santana asked.

“I flew in this morning and I fly out again in about,” she checked her watch, “seven hours.” She smiled at her two best friends. “I couldn't miss this. I was actually sick to my stomach at the thought of not being here. Missing some sleep was worth it. I told my professor I was sick yesterday so I could get on a flight … hopefully she'll never know the difference.”

“Oh, my god, Quinn … I am so happy you made it.” Brittany hugged the other blonde again. “Does Puck know you're here?”

She shook her head. “I didn't tell anyone just in case it didn't work out.”

She was suddenly seized from behind. “Babe! I didn't know you were coming!” Puck kissed her on the neck as he hugged her tightly from behind.

“Spur of the moment decision.”

“How long are you here for?”

“Five hours. Then I have to leave to catch a flight back to Paris.”

“Let's make the most of it, then,” he said, whisking her away.

Santana laughed. Her day, already perfect, just got even better.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Santana couldn't stop smiling and laughing. Brittany looked awesome dancing to Hey Ya!. She grinned as she looked at Pierce sporting a royal blue OTP hat. The hats had been a spur of the moment decision.

They'd been walking through the plaza where the tuxedo place was and saw a shop advertising custom baseball hats. Brittany had grinned her “I have an idea” grin and dragged Santana into the shop. Half an hour later, they walked out with a receipt for four hundred hats. They were only expecting between two and three hundred people but decided it was better to have too many than too few. She shook her head at the memory and, if the number of people wearing them was anything to go by, she was glad they'd done it.

After dinner, they walked around to ask people how the food was and to thank them again for coming. The soft music playing through the speakers stopped and Santana looked up to see Blaine and Kurt on the stage.

“Hi, for those of you who don't actually know who I am, I'm Kurt Hummel … well, Hummel-Anderson, I guess now,” he looked a bit bewildered, as if the events of the day hadn't quite sunk in. “Anyway, Santana, Britt? Will you please come to the dance floor?”

Santana took Brittany's hand and led her to the center of the floor and looked expectantly at Kurt.

Kurt smiled. “Before you so generously agreed to share your day with Blaine and me, Rachel and I had planned to surprise you with a first dance song. Rachel,” he nodded in the diminutive brunette's directions, “graciously agreed to let Blaine sing it with me instead. So, Britt, Santana, this is for you.”

Santana slipped her arms around Brittany's neck and felt Britt's arms encircle her waist. The music started and Santana grinned broadly as she looked into her love's ocean-blue eyes and she softly began to sing along.

Well, here we are again
I guess it must be fate
We've tried it on our own
But deep inside we've known
We'd be back to set things straight
I still remember when
Your kiss was so brand new
Every memory repeats
Every step I take retreats
Every journey always brings me back to you

After all the stops and starts
We keep coming back to these two hearts
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall
And after all that we've been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it's meant to be
Forever you and me, after all

When love is truly right
(This time it's truly right)
It lives from year to year
It changes as it goes
Oh, and on the way it grows
But it never disappears

After all the stops and starts
We keep comin' back to these two hearts
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall
After all that we've been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it's meant to be, forever you and me, after all

Always just beyond my touch
Though I needed you so much
After all what else is living for

After all the stops and starts
We keep coming back to these two hearts
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall
And after all that we've been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it's meant to be
Forever you and me

After all the stops and starts
We keep coming back to these two hearts
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall
And after all that we've been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it's meant to be
Forever you and me, after all

As the song came to an end, they traded a soft kiss and leaned their foreheads together, briefly lost in their own world. Santana was beyond happy. She honestly didn't think there was a word for how happy she was.

The burst of applause pulled them from their bubble and they smiled shyly at one another before turning to thank Kurt and Blaine, who simply nodded in acknowledgment.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The day had been perfect. Quinn came to say goodbye before she headed back to the airport. The three of them hugged each other tightly, promising to get together when Quinn got back from France.

Slowly, the older people who had come to the wedding started drifting out while the younger crowd kept dancing, singing, drinking, eating, and laughing.

Santana's abuela pulled her aside. She gently cupped Santana's cheek.

“I am headed to the Inn. Your mother said I can stay with her in her suite.” Alma paused a moment. “I can see how happy she makes you. How happy you make her. I am happy for you. I may not understand but I am trying to. That man said … what was it … 'under a God who … if he believes in love, then he fully endorses the marriages of these two wonderful couples.' It made me think … perhaps the church is too focused on the past. The Old Testament. They seem to have forgotten – and I did, too – that Jesus said to love one another as I have loved you. We are supposed to believe that God is love and yet, we allow hate to dictate our beliefs.” Alma shook her head. “I do not have all the answers but I know that I love you and I am so very glad that woman was able to convince me to come.” She kissed Santana's cheek softly. “Don't forget to visit me, eh?”

Santana hugged the older woman tightly. “I won't.” She watched as Abuela walked over to speak with Brittany and hug her goodbye.

“Girl, you look as happy as I've ever seen anyone look.” Mercedes slipped up beside her.

“'Cedes, I'm not sure happy even begins to come close to how I feel.” She looked at her friend. “Thank you, by the way, for everything. You've been amazing and I'm so very thankful to have a friend like you.” Santana knew it was time to stop drinking; weepy Santana was one or two drinks away from making an appearance.

“Aw, you know I got you. You and Britt are my girls. If someone had told me sophomore year that this is where we'd be five years later, I'd have thought they were drunk … or crazy … or maybe both. You're a good friend to have, Santana, and I'm thankful that I've been fortunate to be blessed with your friendship.”

Santana smiled and hugged the other girl. “Thanks, 'Cedes. Not sure I'd have gotten to this day without you.”

“You would have. Just woulda taken you five more years.” Mercedes grinned as she pulled out of the hug and winked at the Latina who laughed.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

The party was finally winding down. Brittany had no idea what time it was but the caterer had left awhile ago leaving several cases of bottled water behind and quite a bit of that was gone. The barn was emptying out and, with fewer people, it was getting cold. The heaters they'd had brought in weren't really strong enough to heat the barn; they were meant to just kind of 'supplement' the body heat of their guests.

Brittany looked over where Santana was talking to one of her cousins and could tell by the way her arms were wrapped around her middle that Santana was getting chilled. She smiled softly and made her way out of the barn toward their car; she'd made sure to put a couple of hoodies in the trunk. She wasn't uncomfortable but she wanted Santana to stay warm; it always took her forever to warm back up when she got too cold.

As she walked back toward the barn, a shadow detached itself from the side of it.

Brittany froze, clutching the hoodie tightly. “Wha … what are you doing here?” She asked, her voice much more confident than she felt.

Chapter Text

February 20

Raphael Lopez POV

Raphael Lopez was a proud man. Some would say stubborn. Maribel would say pig-headed. For all his faults, he did love his wife and daughter. He truly did. He sighed as he watched people entering the barn … a BARN! … for his daughter's wedding. He waited until everyone else was inside before exiting his car. He put an envelope into the box on the gift table then slipped unobtrusively into the barn and made his way to a shadowy corner.

He was a handsome man; not very tall but rather imposing none-the-less. He was dressed in a black suit with a charcoal gray shirt and a soft gray tie. His shoes were polished to a bright shine (although, he's not sure how long the shine will last with all the dirt). His dark hair was slightly more salt than pepper and his dark eyes, the ones he shared with Santana, were weary. He had made mistakes. So many when it came to Santana. He sighed. Maybe he could make things right. Maybe … she would forgive him.

Flashback

Raphael was sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee, when Maribel walked into the house.

“Hola, mi amor,” he said, “Where have you been?”

Maribel had sighed. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with him.

“I went to dinner with Santana. She's getting married.”

Raphael had felt a jolt of vindication. “So, she's come to her senses? Who is this boy?”

Maribel shook her head sadly.

“Raffe, there is no boy. Santana has asked Brittany to marry her and Brittany said yes.”

Raphael felt all the air leave his lungs. Santana proposed … to that … that … 

“Whatever you're thinking, stop. Brittany is a wonderfully sweet, bright, friendly, talented, amazing young woman who absolutely adores Santana and Santana is happy. Happy, Raphael. Santana. Do you remember Santana laughing and smiling as a child? I do not. Because she didn't. I didn't even realize that she was capable of being happy until I saw her with Brittany. I will be going to that wedding Raphael. Without you if you do not apologize to Brittany. Fully and sincerely. Santana will not accept you treating … and I am quoting Santana here … her EVERYTHING poorly.”

Raphael looked at his wife and noted the determined look in her eye. She was not bluffing. He would not be going to that wedding if he did not apologize. He felt himself puff up with pride.

“Then I guess you will be going alone.” He stated, challenging her.

She sighed and looked at him sadly before standing up and dumping her cup into the sink. “I guess I will be. Good night, Raphael.”

She left him sitting there in the dark; she did not kiss him or tell him she loved him. Simply … walked away from him. And his pride.

He sat there long into the night thinking about his choices and wondering if he was, perhaps, wrong.

End flashback

He stood quietly in his shadowy corner and watched as the pretty blonde woman who had stolen his Santana's heart was escorted down the aisle by Burt Hummel's kid. She took her place on the stage and faced toward the back, the joy in her face unmistakable. He was confused when the boy stepped to the side of the stage but dismissed it as unimportant.

He craned his neck and finally saw her; his beautiful girl. She was a vision; he spared a glance at the blonde and saw her watching Santana with eyes shining brightly.

A boy with too much pomade in his hair was escorting his daughter down the aisle. A job that was always meant to be his. Although, maybe he wouldn't have anyway … the blonde hadn't been escorted down the aisle by her father; perhaps they felt it was too old-fashioned to be “given away” as though they were property.

His vantage point gave him a full view of his daughter and her … bride. Her bride. He sighed and wondered, not for the first time, how he hadn't realized his daughter was gay. He was a doctor, for God's sake! He was trained to notice things. Yet, there was so much about his own daughter he had missed.

He realized that Burt Hummel was officiating and that, apparently, Kurt and the pomaded boy were also getting married. Maribel had not mentioned that. In the many veiled, and outright, references to Santana's wedding she had never mentioned that it was a double wedding. A double gay wedding. Who had ever heard of such a thing?

He watched as Santana and the blonde … Brittany … he had to remember to use her name … exchanged vows. He heard the happiness in their voices, saw the joy in their faces and felt a sharp pang at the thought that, because of his pride, he had almost missed this.

The kiss was brief. He wondered about that as the two girls hugged each other tightly. Why was the kiss not the kiss of two people who were passionate about one another? Yet, they looked … ecstatic. His Santana, his moody, sullen, angry, volatile firecracker … was smiling so brightly he could see her dimples. Dimples he hadn't even realized existed. His Santana was in love. Completely. How had he not seen it?

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

As the dancing and dining and drinking started, he snatched one of the black OTP hats; one true pairing, his daughter had said it meant. Her one true love was the … Brittany. He put the hat on to somewhat hide himself and kept to the shadows as he watched the reception. Not many people here would know him. Except his sister, Seraphina, and her family. Seraphina and her family were the only ones who refused to align themselves with his mother. Maybe Seraphina was right. He sighed.

He saw the surprise and delight in their faces as Quinn hugged them. Wondered why they were surprised.

He watched as the boys sang for the two women; he listened to the lyrics and stopped to really think about them. Watched as Santana song softly to her new wife … wife! His Santana was married. Watched as they exchanged a soft kiss and pressed their foreheads together; obviously caught in their own bubble world. He had chuckled lightly to himself when he saw their shy smiles as they realized they'd forgotten where they were.

He watched as his wife and mother joined the festivities. Smiled as his wife sang with his daughter and their friends. Wondered about his mother's change of heart; she hadn't said anything to him about going to the wedding.

He stayed out of sight as much as possible; enjoying his daughter's wedding as a ghost instead of as her father. He realized, as he watched the day unfold, that he never really paid attention to Santana. To her hopes, her dreams, her fears. He never heard her cry. Had treated the skinned knees of a stoic toddler, the sprained wrist of an indifferent teen. Rarely heard her laugh. He realized that he had been a poor father; a good provider, he supposed, she had everything she ever wanted or needed. Except a father. He felt shame; his pride crumbling under the realization that he didn't know his daughter at all … and she didn't know him.

It was then that the first tear tracked down his face. He wanted to know his daughter and for her to know him. He wanted to be in her life. Wanted to know her wife … and, eventually, their children. He used a dark handkerchief to wipe away the tears. He needed to make this right.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

He watched as his mother said goodbye to Santana and then to Brittany. Watched as a dark girl talked with Santana, the two of them smiling and laughing. How was it that the only friends of his daughter that he knew were Quinn (and he only knew her because he knew Russell from church) and Brittany. He laughed mirthlessly. The girl who stole his Santana's heart was the only one of her friends he actually knew. And he'd been unnecessarily cruel to the girl. Again, shame crept up; he'd had no right talking to a seventeen-year-old girl the way he had. No right to break her heart as he surely must have done. As he watched Brittany laugh and dance … and the way she smiled every time she was near Santana or Santana caught her eye … he realized that he had never taken the time to get to know her. Never came close to understanding how important Santana was to her … or how important she was to Santana.

He would make this right. He had to.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

The night was winding to a close. The guests were slowly trickling away and Raphael needed to do … something … soon.

The opportunity presented itself as Brittany exited the barn and seemed to be headed in the direction of the cars parked haphazardly around the barn. He slipped out of the barn and stood in the shadows near the corner. As Brittany came back, he stepped forward into the light.

Brittany froze, a sweatshirt clutched tightly in her hands. “Wha … what are you doing here?”  She asked in a tone he was sure was meant to be demanding.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Brittany POV

Brittany froze, clutching the hoodie tightly. “Wha … what are you doing here?” She asked, her voice much more confident than she felt.

Raphael Lopez stopped a few feet away. She noticed he looked tired … and he was wearing one of the OTP hats. She frowned. 

“Santana didn't invite you. I didn't either. So, what are you doing here?” Her voice gained strength and confidence as she realized that, once the surprise of seeing him had worn off, she wasn't afraid of Dr. Raphael Lopez. She wasn't the same scared seventeen-year-old girl who sat in his living room three years ago. 

He smiled sadly. “I just wish to talk. Not like before,” he hurriedly explained as he saw her face harden, “I wish to apologize. I was not only wrong but I was completely out of line talking to you the way I did.” He shook his head. “I realized today that I do not know the first thing about my daughter. Don't misunderstand me, I love her, I always have. But I do not know her. I have not been much of a father and that point was brought home to me today. I watched my daughter get married. I saw something I don't remember ever seeing; her dimples.” He got a faraway look in his eyes. “Do you know, until today, I didn't know she had dimples? I have never seen her smile or laugh as she has done today. I saw her shed a few tears; another thing I have never witnessed.” He shook his head. “I have misjudged so much about my daughter and I am sorry that I allowed my stubborn pride to prevent me from getting to know not only the amazing woman she has become but also the amazing woman who has captured her heart.”

He took a step closer and she could see the tears in his eyes. “Brittany, I am so very sorry for the way I spoke to you three years ago. I hope you can forgive me. It was cruel and I apologize for the way I must have hurt you then.”

Brittany nodded.

“What are you doing here?” Santana's voice was harsh as it rang through the still night. She was at Brittany's side in a moment. “Britt? Are you okay?” She looked at Brittany worriedly.

Brittany smiled softly at her wife and handed her the hoodie. “Here. You looked like you were getting cold.”

Santana took the hoodie and slipped it over her head, no longer caring about her hair or how ridiculous it would look over her dress.

“I'm fine, honey. You father was just apologizing to me.”

Santana eyed him suspiciously.

He nodded. “I wanted to apologize to Brittany alone. I was afraid you would think it was a ploy or insincere if I did it with you present.” He shook his head. “I made a mistake and I wish to correct it. I … am so sorry, mija. I have no excuse. I love you and I wish to make things right. I want to be a part of your life. A real part; not just the person who puts money in the bank. I realized today that I don't really know who you are; your hopes, your dreams, your fears. I never asked. I am asking for another chance to be the father you always deserved.”

Brittany felt a tear slip free at his admission. Santana looked at her and she nodded, almost imperceptibly, letting Santana know she believed him.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Raphael POV

Raphael watched in fascination at the interactions between Santana and Brittany. Few words were exchanged yet they seemed to understand each other perfectly. Brittany had known Santana was getting cold without Santana saying anything. He saw his daughter look to her bride for confirmation that what he said was true and noted the almost imperceptible nod of her head. For the first time in his life, Raphael Lopez believed in soulmates.

In the next moment, Santana was standing in front of him, taking his hand. “Nice hat,” she said, a smiled ghosting over her lips, “if you mean it, then I'd really like to get to know my father.”

He nodded. “I mean it with all of my heart, mija. I love you. I know I have had a poor way of showing it but I wish to be better.”

Santana nodded and pulled him into a hug; one he returned, at first hesitantly then fully, hugging her tightly.

“Raphael? Why are you here?” He heard another familiar voice questioning his presence. “Santana? What's going on? Are you alright?”

“I'm fine, mami.” She pulled away and smiled at her mother. “Papi came to my wedding to apologize to my wife. Found himself a new hat in the process.” She grinned then moved back to Brittany.

“Come on, Britt, let's say goodbye to our guests and get one last slow dance in, okay?” She offered Brittany her hand.

Brittany's smile lit up the night with its brightness as she nodded and took Santana's hand, letting his daughter lead her back into the barn.

He looked at his wife, who was looking at him with one eyebrow arched.

He shrugged. “I am trying to correct my mistake.” He shook his head. “I never knew my daughter. I would like to change that.”

Maribel walked over to him and kissed his cheek. “There's the man I married. Come on, I'd like to get a picture with our daughter and her bride … and at least one dance with you.”

Raphael took her hand and they walked into the barn.

His daughter was happy to take off the sweatshirt to get family pictures taken.

She happily danced a slow dance with him.

Raphael found out something completely unexpected that night; his daughter had a giant, loving, forgiving heart.

He never even suspected it.

Chapter Text

February 21

The wedding had lasted into the wee hours of Saturday morning; by the time Brittany and Santana had said their goodbyes and made their way back to the hotel, they were just able to remove their dresses and fall into bed.

Their wake-up call came at seven-thirty; Santana grumbled and groused as Brittany bounced out of bed. Everyone was meeting back at the barn by nine to make sure everything was cleaned up for Tom and Daisy, the old couple who owned the barn,

Brittany got out of the shower to find Santana still curled up in the bed. She smiled softly; Santana wasn't exactly a morning person but she was always extra difficult the day after a party – whether she'd had too much to drink or not. Brittany was convinced that Santana was an introvert with some extrovert traits; large groups of people wore her out and Brittany usually found her hiding somewhere after about four or five hours. Brittany was actually surprised that Santana had made it through the entire wedding and reception without a break.

Of course, that would explain why she was so exhausted this morning.

“Baby,” she said gently, sitting at the side of the bed and running her hand softly up and down Santana's bare back, “come on, we have to get going. Everyone is going to be there, we don't want to be late.”

Santana whined a bit as she started shifting and making movements to get up. “Briiiiitt, we haven't even had married lady sex yet.”

Brittany laughed and kissed her lightly on the temple. “I promise, we will have plenty of time for that later but we have to go make sure the barn is cleaned up; I don't want to take advantage of Tom and Daisy's kindness.”

Santana grumbled a bit more but finally got out of bed. She smiled at Brittany and kissed her softly on the cheek as she walked to the bathroom. “Morning, wife,” she whispered, emphasizing the word wife.

Brittany smiled brightly. “Good morning, wifey.” She bounced on the balls of her feet. They were married! 

Santana chuckled as she entered the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

They arrived at the barn a little before nine; the others trickling in around them.

There wasn't much to do; the caterers were already there, clearing the tables, chairs, and heaters, and picking up and removing the trash.

The Glee Club carefully packaged up the stained glass windows and put them in Sam's car; he had promised to return them on Monday.

The tulle and fairy lights were boxed up and put in Santana and Brittany's car; Santana had no idea what Britt's plans for the tulle were but she knew Britt had a stash of fairy lights because “you never knew when you might have a fairy light emergency, like, what if we need to make a fort out of sheets and pillows, San?”. Santana grinned at her wife. Then grinned wider as she thought about the fact that … THEY WERE MARRIED!

Tom and Daisy came out around eleven to say hello. They smiled at the girls.

“Hope everything looks okay,” Santana told them, “I think we've gotten everything out.”

“It looks wonderful dear,” Daisy said. “Thank you for allowing us to join the festivities yesterday. I don't think Tom and I have danced so much in years.”

“Oh, we were glad to have you. Thank you so much for letting us do this here. It meant a lot to my mother-in-law.”

“You're welcome.” Tom looked at her thoughtfully. “If you don't mind some advice from an old man,” he started.

“Of course,” Santana wasn't sure what a man who'd gotten married before homosexuality had been declassified as a mental disorder would have to tell her but she was willing to listen.

“When things get difficult … and they will get difficult … remember how you felt yesterday. Remember why you fell in love in the first place. I've been married fifty years and I still don't know much about women but I know this; if the only reason to say something is to hurt your wife, don't say it. It's tempting, in the middle of an argument, to say something hurtful to 'score points' but, in the end, it's not worth it. When a couple argues, nobody wins; you either both win or you both lose because it's not you against her, it's the two of you against the world, against the situation. Keep that in mind and you'll be fine.” He smiled kindly. “Of course, watching the two of you yesterday, I think you'll be fine regardless. Not sure I've ever seen anyone look at another person the way you look at your bride; except for when she looks at you.” He winked and Santana giggled. 

“Thank you,” she said sincerely. She knew his advice was sound. She'd always hated fighting with Brittany and never felt like there was a winner; Tom had just put that into perspective for her.

“Come on now, Tom, enough of your prattling,” Daisy said with a smile and a shake of her head, “I'm sure these young folks have better things to do than listen to us talk about marriage.” Daisy hugged Santana briefly. “You'll be fine, dear. You and Brittany …” she shook her head. “Never thought I'd meet anyone who could love someone more than I love Tom … until I met you and Brittany.”

Santana felt her cheeks warm at the sentiment as the older couple walked back to their house.

Fifty years. 2065. Seemed like a lifetime away and yet Santana knew it would be gone in an instant. She looked at Brittany and smiled. It would still be the best instant of her life.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February 21 – 22 

They spent a few hours wandering around Shipshewana, checking out shops and what there was to do before going back to the hotel.

Brittany lied down on the couch and flipped on the Hallmark channel; cheesy Valentine stories seemed like fun. Santana curled up on top of Brittany, like a cat in a beam of sunshine, and promptly dozed off as Brittany ran long fingers through raven locks.

They spent the remainder of Saturday and Sunday in their hotel room; making love, ordering room service, and napping … all on a shuffled loop; order food, eat, nap, make love, nap, make love, order food … etc.  By the time they fell into an exhausted sleep Sunday night, Brittany had more than made up for Santana having to get up early Saturday.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February 23

They got up early on Monday and met Kurt and Blaine for breakfast. As it turned out, they didn't have to tell the guys they needed a marriage license; it became evident as soon as Burt signed Santana and Brittany's. They looked at each other and decided that February 20th would be their anniversary because that was the day they'd committed to each other but they'd go to the county clerk and the courthouse on Monday to make it legal. They asked Brittany and Santana to join them as their witnesses and Brittany had quickly agreed not even giving Santana a chance to object.

After their “wedding” Kurt and Blaine were going back to Lima but Brittany and Santana were spending another night in Shipshewana to celebrate Britt's twenty-first birthday on the twenty-third.

They spent the day doing whatever Brittany had a mind to do; farm animal petting zoo, buggy rides, barn quilt tour. They went into a few different shops and Santana bought Brittany whatever Britt expressed even the slightest interest in, including a beautiful hand-crafted Amish quilt in dark grays and light blues. Brittany fell in love with it and Santana couldn't/wouldn't refuse her.

They got back to the hotel and Santana smiled at her wife.

“Good birthday?”

Brittany grinned. “The best. I had the best party! Best gift? My wedding band.”

“Brittany …” Santana said in that impossibly sweet and small voice that she only used with her wife.

Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's neck. “I love you, Santana. I am so, so happy right now. I don't ever want to forget this feeling.” She leaned in and kissed her wife slowly, sensually.

Santana returned the kiss with the same ardor, leading Brittany to the bed to finish the birthday celebrations.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

February 24

They pulled up to the Pierce household around one in the afternoon and were surprised to see cars lining the street. They grabbed their bags and walked into the house to a chorus of “congratulations”, “welcome home”s and “happy birthday”s. A party.

Brittany sighed. She knew Santana was still recovering from their wedding. She looked at her wife, who had a smile on her face (a smile that only Brittany could tell was forced). Santana smiled at Brittany (a small, but real, smile) and took their bags to their bedroom. She frowned as she passed the spare room; the door was closed and, upon testing the handle, locked. She shook the thought away, squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and went back out to the party.

Brittany was by her side in an instant. “I'm sorry, honey, I had no idea they were planning this.” She whispered quietly in Santana's ear.

Santana smiled. “It's okay, Britt. It's your twenty-first birthday, of course they want to celebrate.” She wasn't up for a party but she wouldn't put a damper on things … for Brittany's sake, she'd suck it up.

Brittany smiled and kissed her softly on the temple. “I love you. You don't have to stay long. Make a break for it after you've eaten.”

Santana laughed. Brittany was something else; she knew Santana so well.

They made the rounds of the party together, at first. When they separated, Santana went into the kitchen to find something to eat. She found Brittany's Grams puttering about.

“Santana!” Grams hugged her tightly. “I'm so happy to see you. The wedding was beautiful. The two of you were exquisite. It was generous of you to share your day with those two young men but, honestly, they may as well not have been there for all the attention I paid them.” She chuckled lightly, then smiled softly at Santana. “I am so very happy the two of you got married. You weren't kidding last Thanksgiving.”

Santana laughed. “I wasn't taking any chances. I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. No reason to wait.”

“Good.” Susan nodded. “Now I don't have to worry about some … boy … showing up and just being with Brittany because she's beautiful. You see her. You always have.” Susan hugged her again and exited the kitchen, leaving Santana alone. 

She quickly made herself a plate of food, grabbed a diet cola out of the fridge, and slipped down the hallway to their room. It really was their room now. She closed the door, set the food down on Brittany's desk, and changed out of her jeans and into a pair of comfortable sleep shorts. She settled onto the bed with her food and her tablet.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

When Brittany went looking for Santana two hours later, she smiled as she found her bride sound asleep with an empty dish and a half-drunk bottle of diet cola on the nightstand. She put away Santana's tablet, placed a blanket over the sleeping Latina, grabbed the plate, and turned the lights off as she left the bedroom.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

February 25

Brittany and Santana sat in the spare room at the Pierce's and opened their wedding gifts (Whitney had told Britt yesterday that she'd locked the door because, even though they knew and trusted everyone, why leave it open to temptation; Gramps had caught Puck trying to slip a gift into his uniform Friday).

As they opened them, they wrote out the thank you notes; they didn't want to leave it until they came back from their honeymoon. In the Bahamas. Courtesy of … Sue? Santana shook her head – it was too much to process. They'd decided to take the honeymoon in March; figuring this would give them enough time to make arrangements for school and an apartment and whatever else once they got back. They'd have April, May, and part of June to get settled (assuming they were able to start in the summer session).

They were opening the cards when Brittany stopped.

“Um … San?”

Santana looked up. 

Brittany handed her the card she was holding.

Santana took it and opened it; inside was a cashier's check for twenty-five thousand dollars. Santana's jaw dropped. They didn't know anyone …

“My father.”

“Your father.”

They said at the same time. Santana frowned. 

“It doesn't make any sense, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we already forgave him. He left this in the box, anonymously, before we forgave him. He wasn't using it as a bribe or a thank you?”

Brittany nodded. 

“Like Sue … sure she brought my abuela but then she asked for a 'favor' – like we could say no. But my father …”

Santana grabbed her phone and called her mother.

“Hola, mija. How are you? How is Brittany? The wedding was lovely, bebe.”

“Thank you, mami. Um … is papi there?”

“Hm? Yes, wait a moment.”

Santana heard her mother call for her father and a moment later the man was on the line.

“Hola, mija. Yes, the check is from me.”

“How did you know …?”

Raphael chuckled. “I just assumed that is why you called. I left it before the ceremony. I … I had not planned on talking to you or Brittany that day. I thought I would slip quietly away and you would have never even known I was there. But, then, I saw you smile and I realized that my pride was stopping me from being part of my daughter's life. The money was always meant for your wedding, mija. Use it to defray whatever costs you have left or to replenish whatever savings you may have used. Or use it for a car or a house … or whatever you deem necessary.  It's not a bribe, there are no strings attached to it. The money is yours. It's money I should have used to pay for things during the planning.”

Santana swallowed the lump in her throat. “Thank you, papi.”

“Don't mention it, mija. We'll see you when you get back, eh?”

“Definitely.” She hung up the phone and shook her head, quickly filling Brittany in on what her father had said.

Brittany smiled. “Looks like he really did want to reconcile.”

Santana smiled as she wiped away a tear that slipped free. “I guess he did.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February 27

It was late; they were lying in bed quietly, Brittany lying on Santana's chest, the Latina playing with the blonde's hair when Brittany suddenly broke the silence.

“Have you heard from either NYU or Columbia?”

Santana shook her head. “Not yet, I hope something will be waiting when we get back from the Bahamas. Why?”

“Well, it's not a big deal, I guess. I mean … “ Brittany fell quiet, trying to order her thoughts as Santana waited patiently.

“So I sent something back to MIT the week before the wedding. When I checked my email earlier today, there was a note from them. I had mentioned that I'd be living in New York and they reached out to NYU and Columbia. Both universities are willing to give me a part time teaching position in exchange for working with their math department on … whatever.” Brittany rolled her eyes. “I'd be able to take classes as well.”

“Britt, that's great!”

“Yeah. Um, I'd really rather go to Columbia if we can, though. Columbia is offering less money but … the position within the math department comes with an apartment. So we wouldn't have to worry about rent, just utilities and regular living expenses. Columbia also offers health insurance that, since you're my wife,” Brittany grinned, “you'd be eligible for as well. That means you wouldn't have to work. You could focus on school and if the opportunity for an internship opens up you'd be able to take it without having to worry about if we can afford it or not.”

“Britt … that sounds amazing but … you can't shoulder the financial burden on your own.”

“I'd rather you be available if an opportunity comes up … I mean, look at Quinn and France. I mean … I don't want you to go to France but if a chance comes up I don't want you to be afraid to take it because we can't afford it.”

Brittany shrugged. “You get a stipend from your trust every month. I get a decent check from MIT once a month, plus that French company is still paying me AND, I've got that big check from Univision. Not to mention Queso Por Dos is making bank along with views on the original Fondue for Two episodes. People love seeing our story unfold. Speaking of which; I was thinking,”

“Okay.”

“I think, if it's okay with you, we should have one bank account. I mean, the trust fund is separate but like, one account for our living and household expenses. I want to deposit the Univision check into your trust fund and maybe be able to transfer money from the household account into it if we get an influx we don't need right away.”

“Are you sure, Britt? I mean, I already put your name on the trust. You have complete access to it but are you sure you don't want your own account? Like in case you need to buy Lord Tubbington a sweater or something?”

Brittany laughed. “I thought about this. Let's say we have three accounts: yours, mine, and a joint account. We each put the majority of our money into the joint account and keep a little in our own accounts for … I dunno … personal expenses. So there's three hundred in your personal account and one hundred in mine. Lord Tubbington needs to go to rehab again and I need another two hundred dollars. Do you really think you wouldn't give me the money? Or that I wouldn't come to you and say 'San, I really need two hundred dollars'.”

Santana was quiet for a moment. “No. You're right. I'd give you the money without question. And I'd hope you would come to me for anything that was troubling you.”

“Exactly. So what's the point of trying to keep track of three bank accounts plus the trust when we can just do one and the trust.”

“That's fine with me, Britt. We're married. Whatever I have is yours. You need to take care of the finances thought, genius.” Brittany could hear the grin in Santana's voice and felt herself flush with pride and embarrassment. Santana always made her feel that way when she called her 'genius'. 

“Yeah. I'll just need you to give me whatever receipts so I can keep track of what's going out.”

“Maybe have a ledger on the desk I'm sure we'll have? That way all I have to do is slip the receipt inside so that it doesn't get lost or blown off the table?”

“That makes sense. You're sure you're okay with all of this?”

“Britt, you're my wife. I am so okay with all of this. Being married means sharing stuff like this; blending our lives. Our finances are just one part of that life. It makes sense for us to put it all together.”

Brittany leaned up and kissed the underside of Santana's jaw. “Good. It made sense to me, too, but I didn't want to just assume you'd be okay with me knowing your spending habits.”

Santana laughed out loud. “Like you don't already?”

Brittany grinned. “Okay, fair point.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence before drifting off to sleep.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February 28

They were packed and ready to leave in time for their four-a.m. flight. This time, Raphael joined Mirabel in driving them to the airport in Columbus. Since they had cleared out Santana's room at the house, Santana and Brittany had spent the night in a guest room. Santana's mother promised that their room would be refurnished by the time they got back from the Bahamas; she was beyond thrilled that Santana and her father had made up. Now her grandchildren would be able to stay with her as well as Whitney.

Santana had just laughed when her mother voiced that thought. “Mami, it's going to be a few years. I have school and we need to be settled into our careers.”

Mirabel just waved off Santana's protest. She would have grandbabies; that was the part she focused on.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

They were seated on the plane, waiting to leave Columbus for New York. From New York, they would catch a flight to the Bahamas. A month of sun, sand, and sex … lots and lots of sex.

They were seated in first class and the flight attendant handed them two flutes of champagne.

They toasted each other and their marriage then shared a sweet champagne bubble kiss; each having the same thought:

We're finally married. This amazing woman is my WIFE.