Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters.

Hearing Voices

Summary: The fourth time Brittany heard the voice was also the first time she responded to it.


Part II


The alarm beeped twice before Santana slammed her hand on the button and silenced it. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and continued staring at the ceiling of their bedroom until she finally decided to drag herself out of bed. Instead of heading straight for the bathroom like she usually did, she took a duvet from their closet and moved into the living room.

From the way that Brittany had curled into the back of the couch as Santana approached her, the Latina knew that she hadn't been able to sleep either. After carefully covering her girlfriend with the duvet she pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry, B," she whispered. "I love you."

Santana watched Brittany feign sleep for a moment but as the silence stretched on she sighed and walked resignedly towards the bathroom. The sound of the shower running was cut off twenty minutes later and the Latina emerged not long after, hurrying back into the bedroom so she could get dressed.

She threw longing looks at her girlfriend, who remained unmoving on the couch, while she quietly fixed breakfast in the kitchen. A quick glance at the clock gave her the reluctant push she needed to leave for work but not before making one last-ditch attempt with Brittany.

Placing the cup of coffee and sandwich she had made on the table in front of their couch, she knelt down on the rug and brushed her hand through Brittany's hair. "I'm going to call Mike and tell him you're not coming in today. You didn't get any sleep last night and I don't want you to wear yourself out," she said softly. Another minute of silence passed by as Santana waited hopefully for a response from the blonde, even if it was to disagree. "I love you," she murmured, sighing again and letting her lips linger on Brittany's cheek.

As she gently shut the door behind her, she pulled her phone out of her bag and scrolled through it looking for Mike's number. The dance studio didn't open until ten but Brittany always got up earlier than she had to so she could have breakfast with Santana which is why this morning had left feeling disoriented.

Mike picked up on the fifth ring.

"Hey Mike, sorry to wake you." She listened as he waved off her apology in his usual friendly manner. It wasn't hard to see why Brittany and Mike were best friends. "Um, Brittany won't be able to come into work today. No, no, she's fine. Well, actually, it's a little complicated. Listen, Mike, can you do me a favour? Can you put your fiancée on the phone?" Santana chuckled quietly as she heard a sleepy grumble in the background. "I would have called her phone but I figured it was safer if you woke her up. Thanks."


Brittany stepped out of the elevator and into the corridor, scanning the numbers on the doors as she walked past them. When she reached the one she was looking for she knocked gently, just loud enough so its occupant wouldn't miss it, and waited patiently. There was a muffled shuffling of footsteps before the door swung open to reveal Quinn who was positively glowing in her seventh month of pregnancy.

"Hey Britt," smiled Quinn, pulling Brittany through the doorway and into as much of a hug as she could manage. "Thanks for stopping by. I've been going absolutely crazy with boredom stuck here by myself." She looped her arm through Brittany's. "Do you want something to drink?"

The taller girl shook her head in reply and they slowly walked into the living room. She had just gotten out of the shower when she received a call from Quinn asking if she wanted to come over and keep her company for the afternoon. Considering the alternative would have been to mope around the apartment all day, Brittany accepted the invitation gratefully.

She helped Quinn settle into the couch before sitting down herself. There was a brief moment of silent communication as Quinn stared at her expectantly while Brittany responded with a look of confusion. At the quirk of Quinn's eyebrow, Brittany suddenly realised what she was hinting at.

"Did Santana tell you what happened?" asked Brittany, opening the topic up for conversation.

"Not really," Quinn replied, tucking a stray blonde hair behind her ear. "When she called this morning she mentioned that the two of you had gotten into a fight. Then she said she was getting into the elevator and hung up before I could yell at her for making you sleep on the couch," she huffed, crossing her arms and resting them on her growing bump.

"She didn't make me. I chose to," insisted Brittany at once. "And it wasn't really a fight. It was more of a... disagreement." Quinn's lips curved into an affectionate smile at how protective her friend was over Santana but her expression changed to one of concern when she observed Brittany biting down on her quivering lip nervously. "Quinn," she began hesitantly. "I think I'm going crazy. I keep hearing voices."

Quinn was stunned. "You're hearing voices?" she repeated. Brittany nodded. "B, you're going to have to start from the beginning. What are the voices saying to you?"

"The voices have been asking me to marry them," she explained, frowning worriedly and missing the exhale of relief from the other girl. "At first I thought it was Santana asking me to marry her. It sounded like her but last night..." Brushing a hand across her eyes which were filling with tears, she whispered sadly, "Santana doesn't want to marry me."

With some difficulty, Quinn reached over and wrapped her arm around Brittany's shoulder, holding her close. "Britt, I'm sure that's not true. Did Santana actually say she doesn't want to get married?" She felt Brittany nod against her chest and Quinn rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Damn it, Lopez. What are you playing at?" she muttered under her breath.

After a few minutes of crying, Brittany sat up and wiped away her remaining tears with her sleeve. "I've never really thought about Santana and I being married. I mean, even when you got engaged, it didn't cross my mind because that was about you and Mike. But now I am thinking about it."

Nodding understandingly, Quinn looked her in the eye and said firmly, "Listen to me, okay? You are not crazy." When Brittany opened her mouth to protest, Quinn shook her head and repeated herself. "I promise you, you are not crazy. And Santana..." She trailed off, wondering how best to approach this. "Trust me. Things will work out."


Quinn had insisted on Brittany spending the rest of the day with her, not wanting her to go back to an empty apartment and dwell on negative thoughts. When Santana sent Quinn a worried text, asking if Brittany was still with her, she realised she had left her phone at home and decided that she couldn't avoid her girlfriend forever. Fiddling anxiously with her keys as the door drew closer, she unlocked it and stepped inside.

The apartment was dark except for a glow of orange light coming from the living room. Brittany dropped her keys in surprise and her eyes widened as she took in the scene. There were candles placed on almost every surface around the room and in the middle of it all stood Santana. The Latina took both of her hands in her own and led her to the couch with a nervous smile.

"Brittany, I'm really sorry about last night," she said in a small voice after they had sat down. She rested their joined hands in her lap and stared down at them, searching for the confidence she desperately needed right now. Chancing a look at her girlfriend, she found Brittany staring at her in awe, unable to find her voice still. "You're not crazy," she said softly and smiled weakly. It seemed like a good place to start.

"Quinn told you," murmured Brittany, although it was more to herself than Santana. Jutting out her bottom lip, she whined lightly, "No fair. That was a secret."

Mirroring her girlfriend's adorable pout, the Latina teased, "Hey, I thought we said no secrets!" She chuckled affectionately at Brittany's sheepish smile, untangling one of her hands to rest on the blonde's cheek. "But I'll let you off this time." Taking a deep breath, she lost herself in stunning blue eyes and admitted in a shaky voice, "I've been keeping a secret too."

"Is it a nice secret?" Brittany asked innocently. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Santana opened her mouth but no sound came out. Her mouth felt dry and she cleared her throat a few times before blushing and biting her lip shyly. "Yeah, it's a nice secret." With an audible gulp, the Latina steadied her nerves, if only momentarily, and tried again. "You're not crazy, Brittany, because I was the one speaking. I was the voice."

Realisation dawned on the blonde's face and she could feel the familiar bubbling of hope inside her chest. "I wasn't imagining the voice? You were really the one who was asking me to marry you?" The orange flames were doing a good job of hiding the blush on the Latina's cheeks as she nodded bashfully. "You want to marry me?" whispered Brittany in a wondrous tone.

"I meant what I said last night. You're the only girl – the only person – I want to marry." She pulled her other hand free of Brittany's and reached over to pick up a velvet blue box that had lain unnoticed on the table. "The first two times I asked you to marry me, I was just testing the water," confessed Santana, keeping her gaze on the box in her trembling hands. "I wanted to put the idea out there and give you some time to think it over. Last night... it just came out and I panicked so I tried to..." Santana locked eyes with Brittany and felt her heart flutter. "I should have just asked you then and there."

"All that stuff you said about not wanting to put a label on us..." Brittany let the unfinished sentence hang in the air.

"I panicked," shrugged Santana. "There are some labels I don't like but I love the ones we have. You're my best friend, my girlfriend, my soul mate and you're going to be my fiancée..." She pressed a kiss against Brittany's nose and moved her lips to hover just millimetres from the other girl's. "...my wife."

Brittany kissed her longingly and pulled away to smile happily at the Latina. "You have to ask me first," she pointed out, feeling the beaming smile on her face stretch wider than she thought was possible.

Fumbling with the box Santana took out the ring and slid gracefully off of the couch, coming to rest on one knee. "I knew – back in senior year when it finally sunk in that nothing else mattered as long as I was with you – we would end up here in New York. I knew because I knew that I was going to marry you. I've been carrying this ring with me for the past month, thinking that I had to plan some elaborate proposal when the truth is this proposal is perfect because you're the one I'm proposing to." Tears slid joyfully down their faces as Santana slid the ring onto Brittany's ring finger, stopping halfway. "Brittany Susan Pierce, will you marry me?"

The fourth time Brittany heard the voice was also the first time she responded to it.

"Yes." Her voice cracking and her heart bursting with happiness, she shared a watery smile with the Latina as the ring came to rest in its rightful place and completed the missing piece to her hand. Brittany pulled Santana onto her lap, wrapping her arms around her neck. "Yes," she murmured against her fiancée's lips, half a beat before their first kiss as an engaged couple. "Yes."


Finished


Author's Note: I honestly hope that was fluff. I do ship Mike/Tina but for some reason, I have a soft spot for Mike/Quinn and decided to sneak that in. As always, I will fix any mistakes in the morning. Thank you for all the story alerts and favourites.