Her Cinderella blanket was pulled all the way up to her chin but the silhouette of her body was still very visible as she lay there in a fetal position gripping her stomach tightly. She was pale and her skin was clammy to the touch as Santana brushed a tuft of the blonde hair back behind the feeble girl's ear. Brittany cringed a little more at the contact, pulling her knees even closer to her chest. She could see the look of concern in Santana's eyes once she relaxed her body a bit. She was in pain but she didn't want to cause anyone else to feel bad as well.

"Tell me a story, Santana. You know how much I love your stories. Tell me the one about the bear in the sky."

Santana had been sitting on the side of the bed just watching her friend suffering, unable to be of any real assistance. She took that moment to regroup as she felt herself breaking a little. As she stood from the bed with a little hop to get both feet on the ground at the same time, she cleared her throat. Brittany had been in love with the stars for as long as she had known her. But she took it seriously. She listened intently during the school field trips to the planetarium. She spent all her library time looking through astronomy books. She even asked for nothing more than a telescope for her eighth birthday. Santana chose to instead indulge in naps during that time, not seeing a practical use for cosmic information in her future. But now she was expected to regale her ill friend with the tale of the big bear in the sky.

"The bear in the sky? Why would you wanna hear that silly story?" She tried to laugh it off as she walked across the room to the closet but she could still see the sad expression on her friend's face in the reflection of the mirror hanging on the closet door. With her head hung low, Santana slowly returned to Brittany's bedside. She shuffled down to the foot of the bed, turned around and leaned back until she fell into the bed with a soft plop. Staring at the ceiling, she began the story.

"So there once was this kid that only owned one outfit. Maybe that's why he didn't have any real friends. So he spent all his time in the woods. His mother never looked for him but somehow, he always made sure he was home by dinner. I don't really understand how he got to go out everyday cuz my mom, orale, she would kick my-"

Brittany feigned a cough. Santana's head snapped toward the direction of the headboard where the other girl was now propped up on the pillow, listening intently to the story. Her eyes widened with a warning glare to indicate to Santana that her veering off course with profane statements would not be accepted. Santana mumbled an apology before continuing.

"Anyway, um, where was I? Oh! So, like, he had these friends that lived in the woods. I think half were imaginary because they were stitched like stuffed animals. So one day, this little golden bear in a tight red shirt pushed the boy to the limit. He kept singing about honey and begging for honey. So the kid was like, 'Winnie! You can't even fit in the rabbit hole! You don't need any more honey!' And Winnie was like 'but I love honey' and he gave the boy a sad look. And I guess the boy snapped and was like 'you're the reason I don't have any real friends!' and he punted the teddy bear so hard that he got stuck in the sky, never to return again. The rest of the animals were all afraid of him from that point on except the rabbit because he had been warning them all from the beginning that this kid had some tendencies about him. The end."

There was no reply to the story. No movement from either girl. Santana's eyes began to search the ceiling, still waiting for the recourse. When she felt too much time had passed she jerked up and joined Brittany at the head of the bed, grabbing a hold of her friend's hand on the way. Brittany's eyes were closed but she was smiling.

"That's not how the story goes" she whispered.

Santana breathed a sigh of relief.

"Was I close?"

Brittany laughed as she gently shook her head.

"Santana?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm tired."

"I know, Brit. I know." Santana's voice was just as low as Brittany's.

"I'm gonna go to sleep now, kay?"

Before she even answered she could feel Brittany's hand losing grip on her own. Single tears began to creep down Santana's face but she dared not move to wipe them for fear of bothering Brittany. She stayed frozen in that position, watching Brittany's chest rise and fall as she breathed in and out through her mouth. Just as Santana laid her head next to Brittany's, Mrs. Pierce opened the bedroom door, scaring Santana. She instinctively squeezed Brittany's hand, waking her in the process.

"Hi, Santana! I didn't know you were here."

"Brittany wasn't in school so I called and Mr. P said she wasn't feeling well. I didn't know how much time- I was worried." Santana sat up and wiped her face dry.

"What? Brittany? Honey? Your father called me at work…"

"It's okay, mom. I'm ready to go." Her voice was still faint. Santana began crying again, less discreetly.

"Sweetheart, we've talked about this. It's just your monthly visitor. You are not dying."

Brittany's face was scrunched up but slowly the memory dawned on her. Santana's expression wasn't as cheerful. She sat wide-eyed clenching her teeth and the blanket. She took a deep breath, afraid that she may say something inappropriate in front of Brittany's mother. She turned to telepathically give Brittany a piece of her mind but Brittany was zoned out and looking better by the second.

"Oh yeah. Well this really really hurts. Can we have ice cream now?"