AN: This started as one thing and turned into something else. I think that should be the Quinntana motto. Anyway, I don't really like this too much but I promised to do the entire week so I hope you like this more that I do.
Chapter 1 – Lost And Insecure (You Found Me)
It had been three hours since Santana's mother Maribel had called you with the news.
"Quinn are you with Santanita right now?" she says in greeting and you already knew that you didn't like where this was going, "I've been trying to reach her all morning."
"I wish I were but I'm not. I'm in Los Angeles until Friday for a work thing," her sigh sounding a lot more troubled than usual, "Have you called her office?"
"I have but she's not there. I thought if you were with her that the news would be easier to handle," and it sounds like... wait? Was she crying, "She'll need you Quinn."
"Need me for what Maribel?" you ask as you begin to pace the room, "What exactly has happened that she's going to need me for?"
"Ramon's dead Quinn," and those words are all it takes to make your heart break too, "A drunk driver broke the light and smashed right into him."
"Fuck!" you breathe more into the air than the receiver, your hand going to your back on instinct, "I'm going to try my best to leave here now ok but you should still try her again, see if she picks up."
"If you get her before I do have her call me," she says around her tears, "Take care of my mija Quinn."
"I'll be with her as soon as I can."
Two hours since Santana had stopped responding to your text messages.
S: Hey you how's LA? Just got out of surgery and saw all of your missed calls? You ok?
Q: Miserable without you. Are you done for the day?
S: Yup. Pity I don't have you to go home to for another 3 whole days.
Q: I'll be there sooner than you think.
S: Is that a promise?
Q: Yes. P.S. you should call your mom.
S: I saw her missed calls too, everything ok?
Q: She asked me to ask you to call her if I got you before she did so call her, now, please.
S: Quinn? What the hell?
Q: Just call her S ok?
S: Fine. I'm calling her now.
Q: Thank you, love you.
S: Love you too.
.
S: Quinn?
Q: Yeah S?
S: Did she tell you? About him, do you know?
Q: Yes she did and yes I do. I'm so sorry Santana.
S: Don't be. I'm fine.
Q: Where are you?
S: I'm fine Q. Talk to you later ok.
Q: Santana please don't do this.
Q: Santana please baby answer me.
Q: Santana?
Q: Call me, text me. Just let me know that you're ok, please!
Q: Please pick up!
One hour since you'd told your boss that you were leaving.
"Quinn you can't just leave in the middle of it," his hands going up in frustration, "You're our lead attorney on this entire case."
"I know John and I'm sorry but I can't stay," your voice as firm as you needed it to be, "I'll still keep abreast of everything but I'm needed back in New York for personal reasons."
"Quinn-"
"If you want this case won you'll let me go. You know as well as I do that I've had more wins than anyone else in this damn organization but I wouldn't mind messing up that record," his eyes narrowing in understanding, "Do we have a verdict?"
"We'll see you back in New York."
Thirty minutes since American Airlines had delayed your flight.
Please be advised that American Airlines flight 2780 from LAX to JFK has been delayed. We're currently experiencing some issues with the plane but our technicians are working hard to fix the problem. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
And ten minutes since you had landed back in the Empire State.
"Is there a shortcut we can take?" you ask the cab driver, "Any way to get to Manhattan faster than Cinderella got home from the ball?"
"Construction is everywhere lady," his voice sympathetic, "I'll do the best I can but we'll be stuck in this crawl for at least another 30 minutes."
"Great," your head hitting the seat with a thud, "Just great."
You were tempted to call Rachel, Kurt or hell even Brittany to go check in on her and make sure that she was ok but you knew her, she wouldn't open up to them. Sometimes she wouldn't even open up to you. Ramon had been like a little brother to her, he was a little brother to her and you couldn't even begin to imagine the pain that she must be going through. You'd already called her secretary and informed her to shift around all of Santana's surgeries that could be shifted around and to redistribute the ones that couldn't be. There was no way that she would be fit to save anyone's life when she just lost a part of her own. You were a lawyer and a damn good one but you didn't want to test it against a medical malpractice suit. Those were always tricky and filled with unintelligible loopholes.
You're annoyed, tired and sad by the time the cab pulls up in front of your Manhattan condo but at least you're home.
"Santana," you softly call as you walk inside, "Santana baby are you in here?"
There's no response. Not like you expected one but still, you just wanted to find her and make sure that she was safe.
She's not in the den or any of the downstairs rooms so you take your search to the second floor of the house. You find her sobbing quietly in the guest bedroom that Ramon had slept in not more than two weeks ago when he came to visit and the sight breaks your heart. She looked utterly broken.
"Oh baby," her body immediately curling into yours when you lay down beside her, "I'm here now. Let it out."
"What are you doing here?" her words coming through broken sobs, "I thought you had to stay in LA until Friday?"
"You don't really think that I'd choose work over you do you?" your arms pulling her closer to you, "Nothing will ever be more important to me than you are and we'll get through this together I promise."
"We don't have anything to get through Quinn, I do," her body pulling away from yours slightly, "It's not like he was your cousin or anything."
You wanted to but you knew better now than to respond to that. Santana when hurt would always be 10 times worse than any other Santana on the planet but you were prepared to deal with it. You loved her that much and honestly you weren't a bed of roses when you were hurt either.
"I'm sorry Quinn I didn't-"
"I know," you say placing a kiss to her forehead, "I know."
She cries herself to sleep in your arms with her head against your chest and you wouldn't have it any other way. Most people thought that you were equals and to some extent you were but she was without a doubt the stronger one. Since you were kids she'd been the one protecting you from getting hurt, she'd been your safe haven away from your parents, she'd be the one to hold you and tell you that everything would get better but now it was your turn to protect her and you would. With everything that you had, you would.
You awake in the morning expecting to have her there but she's not next to you. You find her sitting on the couch with a box of tissues, a blanket and a bunch of old home movies. Today would be a long day.
"Do you remember this?" she asks when you take the spot next to her, "The UCLA championship game when Sam won MVP of every game and Ramon won MVP of the series."
"How could I forget?" her head finding its way to your shoulder, "The sex that night lasted till the morning."
She laughs then and you smugly pat yourself on the back. Stage 1: Get her to laugh complete.
"Seriously Quinn?" her laughter stopping somewhat, "That's all you remember?"
"That's because you're unforgettable baby," her eye roll done in effect to stop her blush, "Always and forever."
"You sound like me." Her head returning to your shoulder again.
"In your dreams Lopez," a scoff her only response, "You wish you were that smooth."
The rest of the day is spent watching old home movies, eating pizza and getting her to laugh every once in awhile. It's a slow process and sometimes all progress is lost and she reverts back into herself but even then, you're there still. You'd always be there.
"Do you have everything?" you ask as you close your suitcase, "Our flight's at 4 in the morning."
"I don't want to go," she says through a sigh, "I can't."
"Yes you can," the suitcase forgotten as you make your way over to where she stands looking out the window, "You're Santana Lopez and Santana Lopez can do anything."
"I love you," her hand reaching up to push your hair back behind your ear, "Just in case I'm not here to tell you tomorrow."
And then she kisses you before you could respond to that.
The funeral comes and you're sitting right next to her in the front pew of the church, standing right next to her when they lower the coffin into the ground, holding her hand at Uncle Andres' house when they play a game of 'drink until you forget' in Ramon's honour and calming her down after she becomes a weepy, hysterical drunk. You're by her side the next day when she helps her mother pack up his things and you're working close by when she and Sam play monopoly and talk about their favourite memories.
"Hey Quinn," its two days later when you return back to New York, "Do you have to go to work tomorrow?"
"Sadly yes I do," you answer tiredly dropping yourself onto the couch, "But not if you want me to stay home with you."
"No, you should go," her jacket tossed carelessly on the other chair, "I'm pretty sure that I have to go back to work tomorrow too."
"Are you ready for that?"
"I'm a doctor Quinn, saving lives is what I do."
"I know but just-"
"Seriously I'll be fine," her hair making a curtain around you when she leans over the back of the couch to give you a kiss, "But don't fall asleep just yet because I need you to meet me upstairs in 10."
"Why?"
"Because I wanna show you something." She says with a wink before disappearing upstairs.
You're tempted to give in to your tiredness and deal with her hitting you with a pillow in the morning but you get up and go upstairs anyway.
"If you didn't bring me here to...what the hell?"
There are literally rose petals on every surface of your bedroom complete with arrows pointing you in which direction to go and if you weren't mistaken, that was Take My Breath Away playing in the background.
"Santana?"
"Follow the arrows Quinn."
"It would seem that Kurt got a little bit carried away with this whole thing," your quirked eyebrow on your entry into your candle lit bath suite making her elaborate, "I wanted to do something special for you, you know to say thank you."
"Thank you for what?" you say while taking the offered champagne glass and eyeing her robe clad body.
"For being there for me through all of this even when I didn't exactly make it easy for you."
"Santana-"
"You know that I'm horrible with words so please just let me finish," she says in interruption, "Before you I never had a safe place to land, but then I met you and everything changed. No one has ever loved, cared or put up with my bitch like you do or allowed me to be me like you have and I know that you think that I'm the strong one but if I'm the strong one it's only because you let me be. I love you Quinn and I just wanted you to know that."
You don't respond to her confession, not verbally at least. You kiss her then for all the days that you've been together, all the things that you've been through together and for all the things that you were feeling in this moment.
"We're supposed to be taking a candle lit bath before we get into bed Quinn," she says in between kisses, "I had this all planned out."
"I know but I think you'll like my plan a whole lot better."
"What exactly does this plan entail?" her eyes trailing the movement of your fingers slowly unbuttoning your shirt, "I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into."
"Me," you say recapturing her lips again, "You're getting yourself into me."