Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 38th cycle. Now cycle 39!

INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!
Go to: gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet

"Step Eleven, Just Don't Panic"
Brittany & Kurt & Santana; Brittana
Paper Heart #12 (following 'Step Ten...')

The more days went by, taking them closer to Regionals, the antsier she got. She'd loosened up after they'd talked to her, after she'd quit the Cheerios, but even then she'd been so very disciplined about being careful… She was changing, had to. But she had stuck with Glee Club for many reasons, one of them being that Regionals were getting close. She knew how hard it could be to replace one of them, and they needed her… She wanted to be there… After Regionals, that was another thing, but for now…

Still this was competition, bigger… She couldn't throw weak stuff, it was time to 'go big.' But then what would it mean for…

"Hey…" She looked up from her lunch to find Kurt was sitting across from her.

"How long have you been there?" she blinked.

"About three minutes," his voice carried the rest of that sentence, the fact that she hadn't noticed. "Is something on your mind?"

"Regionals," she shrugged.

"You and Mike worked it out, didn't you? The choreography, so you'd be alright to…"

"We did," she confirmed.

"So you've got nothing to worry about. We're going to knock Vocal Adrenaline out," he raised his chin and she smiled. "Okay?"

"Okay?" she nodded.

A few days later, they were all packed up, on the road, and then they were at the auditorium, getting ready… Time was ticking down, her nerves trying to reclaim her. She put a hand to her stomach, now hidden under the gold dress. Even Quinn, on the verge of giving birth, didn't look so big in that dress…

They were all nervous, not just her. There was plenty more at stake here than a trophy, they knew that. So she supposed having that to worry about instead was a good enough distraction. Before she knew it they were waiting behind that curtain which would rise partway through the song. She looked to the side, eyes locking with Santana's; they smiled at each other. Santana gave her a thumbs up – are you okay? Brittany nodded. Then the curtain was going up and it was show time. It came and went in a flash. Before she had time to consider a thing their set was done… It was out of their hands… and she still felt fine. Her eyes found Santana, found Kurt, and she couldn't stop smiling.

"You were amazing," Santana told her as they dashed down the hall along with the rest of the club.

"So were you," Brittany returned the compliment. "I'm glad you guys convinced me to go through with it."

"No one could have stopped you."

"What about Coach Sylvester?" Brittany pointed out.

"Why, because two of our members are pregnant? She wouldn't have been able to, since you're also two of her Cheerios," Santana reminded her, and Brittany smiled.

Then they'd heard Mrs. Fabray's call for help. All they had to do was look and see Quinn's posture and they knew: she was in labor.

"Not for much longer," Brittany looked back to Santana, before they all rushed to help. They'd all packed into the bus, except for Rachel, who'd stayed behind.

As they took off, Brittany couldn't help but stare at Quinn, at the front with her mother and Mr. Schuester. She'd been quiet at first, but then… "Britt?" Santana spoke to her, she knew, but her head wouldn't move. "Are you alr…"

"Why is she screaming?" she was dazed.

"Why do you think?" Santana replied, and Brittany just… whimpered.

By the time they arrived to the hospital, Brittany was sufficiently traumatized. She followed along with the others, but it wasn't as though she'd decided it; she just followed. Quinn, her mother, Puck, and Mercedes disappeared off to the delivery room, and this left the rest of them to wait. It was only then that the shellshock was seen.

"Okay, come on," Santana tried to coax her along, Kurt as well.

"You knew this would happen," he spoke as though to say 'remember?' They had prepared her for this, for her, even if it was still months away, maybe to lessen the surprise when Quinn's turn came… Now they saw their success was minimal at best.

"That's what's going to happen?" Brittany asked flatly, letting them lead her to take a seat. The others were sneaking looks at her, too, like in this time of wait, watching her reaction was better than the alternative.

"Yeah, but they'll give you drugs and you'll be fine," Santana told her.

"We hadn't discussed that yet," Kurt tried to keep his tone even as he addressed Santana. He got a frown and the same tone.

"What would you rather have, don't you think you've put her through enough?"

"Don't fight," Brittany's voice cut between.

"We weren't fighting," Kurt and Santana replied.

"Yes, you were," Brittany shook her head.

"Fine, you're right," Santana told her, then looked to Kurt. "Sorry."

"Sorry, too," he nodded. "Didn't think I'd be so nervous," he chuckled awkwardly. "I mean it's not even my…" He didn't need to finish.

"Don't be scared," Brittany told him, and looking at her he could see she was starting to calm down. He nodded, sitting back. It had become something like code for them: I'm not scared, so you don't have to be. "It's gonna hurt…" she stated more than asked. She looked to one side and the other, and they were avoiding locking eyes with her now. "It's gonna hurt a lot…"

"Okay, I can't keep sitting here," Santana suddenly got up. "Want to take a walk?" she offered her hand to Brittany, who took it, and helped her up. She turned back to Kurt after a beat. "Want to come?" she offered, the momentary argument gone. The fact was, since this whole thing had started they'd come to rely on one another, like some kind of friends.

"Sure, yes," he got up. "I am getting a bit stir-crazy out here…" After Mr. Schuester had told them not to wander off too far, the three of them had gone down one hall and then another…

"Should we get something from the gift shop?" Brittany asked.

"Might not be the best idea," Kurt cringed. "I don't think they're keeping the baby."

"Oh… right…" Brittany lowered her head. They were getting odd looks from passersby, the two girls in matching hair and costume and the boy in the matching clothes, but one withering look from Santana and they were warded off.

"Look…" she spoke all of a sudden, and Kurt and Brittany looked up to see they'd reached the windows to the nursery.

"Oh…" Brittany gasped, moving to look in. Her face instantly split into a smile at the sight of all the babies. "Kurt," she waved him over, not looking away. He came to her side, Santana stood on the other, and they all looked in silence for a while. They were all in their own bubbles, and they all seemed incapable to stop smiling. "Little fingers, tiny fingers…" she whispered, a calm sigh escaping her. "They're perfect…"

"They are pretty adorable," Santana agreed.

"That's what they do," Kurt was still looking in, and he knew that. Like him, they were imagining he time, a few months from now, when in a ward just like this, one of those babies would be their own… 'baby boy Hummel Pierce,' if Brittany's prediction revealed itself to be true, and at this point he did believe in it as well.

In a few months, their child would come into the world… their lives would change… change more than they already had. It felt scary still at times, when they ran into the reality of their youth, but they had a great support system all around them that told them they could be okay.

And then there were moments like these, of sheer panic followed by a reminder that things were not nearly as bad as they might imagine. All of a sudden the fear would subside and they'd be in a good place again. Soon Quinn would have had her baby, and they would observe her, welcome her to the world…

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!