Chapter 1: Stress-Induced Cardiomyopathy

Santana Lopez peered out over the water. Central Park always seemed like a safe place. It was an oasis of sorts, a touch of calm in one of the biggest cities in the world. Working in the ER at a hospital in that city made everything crazier than it already was.

Water usually calmed Santana down. Ever since she was a child and her father took her out on Lake Michigan she felt a connection with the water that gave her peace. The gentle movement of the current, the smell of the fresh lake breezes; she loved it all. The small bodies of water she sat in front of then paled in comparison to the ones she grew to love, but they were a decent substitute when she needed to get away. At that moment, however, none of it seemed to help. Not with what happened.

"Are you ready to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about, Kurt. She dumped me, okay? I have to give her space because she, and I quote, 'needs time to think'. I can't do anything! She won't talk to me, she won't respond to a text. There's nothing I can do!" Her tone was vicious as she worked herself up into frenzy. She turned to her friend as she spoke. Once she was completely facing Kurt the frustration painted on her face was stripped away and replaced with a quizzical expression. "Are you cold over there, Hummell?"

Kurt was stood with hands in his armpits and pushing his face down into his scarf. "What ga-ga-gave it away?" He replied through chattering teeth.

"I didn't ask you to follow me, ya know."

"Well, I'm out here freezing my Armani pants off because I care anyway."

"If you're cold then go back to your perfectly designed apartment. I'm sure your hobbit misses you." She turned back to the water.

"It's been ten years since senior year. It's time to come up with a new nickname for Blaine." He sighed and fought back his exasperation again. "I'm not leaving you out here by you – yourself."

In high school Kurt would have given up on helping Santana a long time ago. He probably would have then actually, but the cold seemed to freeze him in place and commit him to his task. That and he promised Rachel he'd make sure Santana was okay. Rachel would be there herself but she had a show that night, Broadway and All That Jazz. Quinn was home with the kids according to Rachel. Santana had turned back around. She wasn't moving or talking so he tried again.

"Why don't YOU go home?! Maybe after you've slept you won't be so cranky!"

The words were out before he could think about what he said. He saw her head lean forward as she took a deep breath. She wasn't going home. She would be going to sleep on Quinn and Rachel's couch.

"I'm sorry. That was a poor a choice of words, okay. But I still say you should go back to Quinn and Rachel's and get some rest."

Santana didn't look back at him. She mumbled that it's okay and continued watching the reflection of the moon on the water. It was nearly a full moon, which meant that in a few days the ER would get even crazier. Yeah, go figure; apparently people do get into more trouble during a full moon. As her thoughts passed over the oncoming increase in patient intake it was only fitting that her pager would go off. For a second, she almost forgot she was on call. Okay, so she definitely forgot she was on call but only after she got to Central Park. She was only supposed to get called in if they were running low on staff so she reasoned the ER must be pretty packed if she was being paged.

All her friends were worried about her. The gang had mainly kept in contact since their high school Glee club days and most of them were in New York City now. None of them were mad at Brittany either. No, not even Satan himself would be able to say a mean word to Santana's girlfriend. Or was it ex-girlfriend? Santana didn't know. All she knew right now was that she had to get to the hospital because someone might be dying or something. She hoped that there would at least be enough trauma to keep people busy so she wouldn't have to see Nurse Tina's pitying glances or answer her useless, but well-intentioned, questions. Yes, quiet Tina is an ER Nurse and she loves the girl she really does, but Santana was hoping everybody would leave her be for at least a little while. Brittany had just kicked her out two days ago and people were bugging the shit out of her about it. She was so busy fielding questions and concerns she hadn't really had time to process everything.

The only reason she told anyone in the first place was because she was forced to crash on her friends' couch. She wanted to process everything but at the same time, she knew it was going to hurt. Santana was always the cram-all-the-feelings-deep-inside-until-they-break-you type person. Santana was used to denying her feelings but over the years she realized that she couldn't do that anymore. Brittany wouldn't let her hide inside herself anymore for one, and two: she knew if she tried to bottle up the hurt from this the bottle would explode and the shrapnel would be her undoing. She had spent her college years studying hard and going through medical school so she could give Brittany, and their future family, everything their hearts desired. As it stood right now she would be using half her annual salary to pay off student loans for what seemed like rest of her life, and now Brittany wanted some space for her and their 3-month-old son, Jake, because Santana wasn't around enough.

Isn't that life kicking her in the ass?

It's not that Brittany was wrong, quite the opposite. Santana had just completed her residency around the time Brittany had Jake and she had become very skilled at Trauma Surgery. She impressed the Chief resident, and even the Attending, so she was able to get more surgeries. She was gone a lot leaving Brittany at home to take care of Jake. Their friends were always willing to be there for them of course, but it's not the same as having the person you started a family with there.

Right. Hospital, emergencies, possibility of fatal damage in need of repair; I should probably get on that. With a heavy sigh she stood up and began the walk back to the hospital while Kurt watched her wave goodbye.