You've Got a Friend in Me
The two of them had been sitting there in complete silence for what seemed like hours. It probably had been hours. The brunette sighed and took one more look at her new client to see if her face showed any new emotion. Nothing. This was going to be a tough case to crack, but the Latina knew that this is what she wanted to do.
"Ms. Pierce, I know this is hard, but in order to help you get your sister back, I need you to cooperate." Santana spoke softly. The blue eyes in front of her looked at her for a split second, but then went back to her own lap.
"What do you think I've been doing for the past two years?" Her blonde client finally spoke. However, Santana was a little taken aback by her cold tone. "I've seen so many people like you, Santana. And they've all been telling me the same thing. I get it now. I'm not fit to take care of Julia." Julia was her client's younger sister. "I don't have money. My job doesn't give me time to take care of her. I get it. I'm just tired." The blonde sighed.
Santana could in fact feel for the girl. She knew how it felt like to be left behind. Her own mother had left her alone as a helpless 10 year old. Not too long after, the young Latina was sent to live with a random family. Luckily for her, the Fabray's were the nicest people she had ever met - accepting, fun, and supportive. They helped her get her life back on track, and for that she would never be able to thank them enough. Out of all of that, she even got a real best friend and sister; Quinn Fabray.
Anyway, the difference between the client in front of her, and Santana's mother, was that Brittany S. Pierce wanted the best for her sister. Otherwise she wouldn't be here.
"Brittany." The Latina finally spoke in a soft tone. "I get that you're tired. Trust me, I do. But once we figure out a solution, you don't have to face this anymore." The blonde didn't say anything for a few moments, but then she slowly nodded and whispered an 'okay'. Santana couldn't help but smile. "Well, good. Now let's start with your job. You're a dancer, right?" Brittany nodded in response. The brunette took a moment to jot stuff down on her forms. "That's nice." Santana said with a genuine smile. "Do you enjoy working as a dancer?"
"I love dancing." Brittany said softly. "I just hate my job. Yeah, I get to dance. But only for other people. Not myself." She frowned. "I don't like taking off my clothes like that." She mumbled. That's when something clicked in Santana's head. Now she understood. Brittany didn't work as just any dancer. She was a stripper.
"Oh, Brittany." The brunette said softly as she set down her pen and looked at the girl. The blonde looked absolutely embarrassed. "You're a smart girl. Isn't there any other job that could suit you?" The blonde shook her head.
"I'm not smart. I worked as a bartender once but it was too confusing. I always gave the wrong drinks to people or spilled." Brittany softly explained. "Plus, nothing pays as much as this job." She shrugged. Santana shook her head. There had to be something else that could pay as good, or even better, and give her time to take care of her sister.
"Look." The Latina sighed. "This job may pay well, but I can tell that it's making you really unhappy. You want to spend time with your sister, and I know she wants to spend time with you too." The blonde nodded in agreement. "And you're 24. You're old enough to take care of her. Why leave her with a careless aunt?" Santana knew right after she said that, she hit Brittany in a certain spot. Tears were forcing their way out of the blonde's eyes, but she blinked them away.
"I know, okay?" She said in a shaky voice. "I'm trying to get enough money to buy an apartment. She can't live at a strip club!" Santana hated this part of being a social worker. Tough love. But she knew that it was working.
"Well, neither can you Brittany." The Latina closed her pen and started to gather all of her things. "Our time is up for today." Santana said as she stood up. However, the blonde still sat in her chair. They had been sitting in a small room at a local community center near the city. The brunette sighed as she realized the other girl wasn't going to say anything. She walked towards her and knelt down in front of her seat. "This is going to be hard." The Latina whispered. "But I promise you, it will be worth it." And with that, Santana left the room.
X.
"Sorry I'm late!" Santana came running into the bar. Everyone was already there, and everyone seemed to be dancing or laughing. It was her sister's 25th birthday.
"Calm down, woman!" Her best friend, Mercedes, said as she walked towards her with two drinks in hand.
"Mercedes!" Santana squealed and hugged her friend. "How have you been?"
"I've been good. You know me, I'm always good! The question is, how have you been? You look tired as hell, girl." Mercedes said as she handed Santana a drink. The Latina gladly accepted it and took a long sip. Her friend rolled her eyes.
"I am tired, but I'm good." Santana said honestly. "Now where's my Quinnie poo?!"
"San, please don't call me that on my birthday." Santana's beautiful, blonde sister walked towards her with a huge smile on her face. Her friend, Rachel, was with her; but everyone knew they were more than just friends. That's the thing Santana loved about her sister - she didn't care about sexuality or labels, and that's what taught the Latina not to care about those things either. But if Santana were being honest with herself, she much rather preferred being with girls.
"There's my worst favorite person." Santana smirked as she went to hug her sister. "Happy birthday." She whispered.
"Thanks, San." Quinn smiled.
"Berry." Santana nodded to the small brunette holding her sister's hand.
"Oh, hello Santana. It's nice to see you here, and you're looking well." Rachel beamed. The Latina rolled her eyes, and then looked at her sister.
"Please get her drunk tonight." Santana pleaded.
"Please be nice to her." Quinn replied seriously.
"Okay. I'll be nice to your friend." Santana giggled. "Come on Mercedes. Let's get drunk!" The Latina went to her friend and took her towards the bar.
The rest of the night was filled with dancing, drinking, and having fun with friends. Santana was glad she had the people she did in her life. She didn't know where she would be without them. The Latina was now waiting outside the bar for a taxi. She decided to leave the party a bit earlier than the others since she was exhausted. Everyone, of course, understood. She yawned and took a seat on the side walk. The brunette was still a bit drunk, but definitely not as much as her friends.
She heard a familiar voice nearby but couldn't quite make it out.
"$250. No exceptions." The voice was in a hushed whisper. It was a girl. The other voice, however, sounded scruffy and gross.
"Fucking rip off." The man hissed. "$175."
After that, the voices stopped, but Santana still got up to walk to the source of the voices. She walked to an alley behind the bar, and that's when her eyes went wide. It was Brittany. Her client. There she was in plain sight, making out with a completely older man. The man's hands were under her shirt, and the blonde looked completely uncomfortable.
"Hey!" Santana screamed out in anger as she walked towards the pair. They both stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Brittany's eyes went wide as she tried to compose herself. "Get off of her!" The Latina grabbed the man by his collar, but all he did was laugh.
"What's it to you, sweetie? This is our business." He said. Santana looked between the two. The blonde wasn't saying anything.
"Brittany. Come on. We're leaving." Santana said. Now the other girl looked mad.
"What did you just say to me?" The blonde said, crossing her arms. The old man looked amused by the exchange.
"I said we're leaving." The Latina said a bit louder this time.
"Last time I checked, you weren't my baby sitter! You're the one who should just leave. You think I'm helpless? I'm sorry to break it you. Not everyone is born into a perfect life like you. So maybe instead of trying to fix everyone, you could just back off." Santana was hurt and completely taken aback by what the girl had just said. She was left speechless. She could tell that Brittany had a few too many drinks, but still. Santana sighed.
"Come on, Brittany." The Latina said softly as she grabbed the blonde's hand gently and pulled her away from the random man. The other girl, surprisingly, didn't fight her this time. They were both just too tired.
They walked back to the bar and waited in silence for a taxi. When it came, Santana told the driver the address to her apartment, and the rest of the drive was spent in silence again. When they got to the Latina's apartment, Santana held open to door for the blonde to go in first, and she did. She took a moment to look around the unfamiliar place. It was a decent sized apartment. There were two bedrooms, a cozy living room, and a huge kitchen. Brittany definitely wasn't used to this luxury. Santana took off her coat and threw it on a chair.
"You can have a seat on the couch and make yourself comfortable." The Latina said quietly, and Brittany did just that. The blonde plopped down on the couch and put her feet on the coffee table. Santana couldn't help the little smile that formed as she went to go fix the blonde a glass of water. She then joined the girl on the couch, making sure to leave a decent amount of space between them. "Here." The Latina said as she handed the glass of water to Brittany. "Please drink it." They locked eyes for a moment, and then the blonde just nodded as she drank the water. Santana, for the first time as a social worker, had no idea what to say to her client. In fact, she felt weird calling Brittany her client at the moment. She was sitting on her couch at 2am for fuck's sake. It had been ten minutes of the Latina talking to herself in her head, until the blonde finally spoke.
"I'm sorry." She said barely above a whisper. Santana raised her eyebrow in question, and Brittany cleared her throat. "Uh, for what happened back there at the alley. I shouldn't have said those things. I know you were just trying to help me." Santana could tell that she was genuinely sorry, and she didn't really blame her for anything at all.
"It's okay, Brittany. I understand." Santana said with a soft smile.
"Okay..cool. Well, thank you for, uh, having me? But I should probably get going." The blonde said as she stood up and walked towards the door.
"W-wait." The Latina said as she walked there too. "Where are you going?" Brittany totally forgot that Santana knew all about her situation. The blonde internally groaned as she tried to come up with something. She was bad at lying, and she hated doing it. She didn't even want to lie to the brunette. She was being so nice to her.
"I don't really know." Brittany finally admitted. Santana eyes softened.
"I know you don't have anywhere to go besides the strip club, and frankly, I don't think that's the best idea." The Latina hesitated. "I have an extra bedroom. Just please...stay here until you've figured everything out?" Brittany looked surprised.
"Why would you want me to stay here?" She asked quietly. Santana laughed in response.
"Brittany, is that even a question? I want so badly to help you." The Latina then realized that she was making it sound like a charity case. "Uh, but also because I know you're an honest person." Santana said genuinely. At this, Brittany finally cracked a smile.
"Okay. But I still feel weird about this." Well, she was being honest. The Latina just shook her head and grinned.
"It won't be weird once we find you a decent job. Trust me." And Brittany did trust her.
After an hour of getting the guest room together, Santana let Brittany know where everything was, and that she was welcome to all the utilities in the apartment. The blonde was now laying down in the huge guest bed. She hadn't slept on an actual bed in years. It felt like she was on clouds. Brittany also couldn't help the tears that escaped her eyes when she thought of her little sister, Julia, and her living situation. Sure, it wasn't completely bad, but she knew that Julia was lonely and verbally abused by their aunt. The blonde decided to cut the bullshit. Santana was right. She would get a job that made her happy - maybe waitressing? Whatever. Her first priority was to get her sister back, and she knew that Santana would be there to help.