"Rach... Its going to be okay, I promise." Santana said as they heard sirens. Rachel nodded and Santana slowly went to go check. "It looks safe. No one looks hurt. I think this was just some sort of prank."

"That's a pretty messed up prank." Rachel said. Santana nodded in agreement as their doorbell rang.

"Hi Detective." Santana said, addressing one of her professors that also worked for NYPD.

"Ms. Lopez. You live here?" She nodded. "Are you okay?"

"Yea... We're both fine."

"We?"

"I live here with my girlfriend Rachel." she explained. Her professor nodded.

"Do you know what happened?" As Rachel listened to Santana talk, she thought back to the begining of their relationship.

Ninteen year old Santana whipped around when she felt someone bump into her. "Watch where you're goin... Berry?" The smaller girl stared up at her in shock.

"Santana... what are you doing here?" she asked.

"This is more my scene than yours. What are you doing here?" Santana asked. Rachel shrugged.

"Some of my friends wanted to come, so I tagged along." she said. Santana nodded. "Its strange that we'd run into each other here, don't you think?" Rachel asked. Santana sighed and nodded. "How have you been?"

"Do you want to get out of here and go get some coffee or something?" Santana asked, not really wanting to explain to her friends who this girl was. Rachel smiled and nodded. Santana lead the diva out of the club and to the nearest coffee shop. "I've been good." she said, answering Rachel's earlier question. Rachel smiled.

"You're at Columbia, right?" Santana nodded. "What are you studying?"

"Criminal Justice." she said, shrugging shyly. Rachel nodded.

"That sounds like a good fit, especially considering the way you set up the Bully Whips to help out Kurt." she said. Santana ducked her head. "Its nothing to be ashamed of, Santana. I actually admire that. It was really great the way you helped him."

"Kurt's a cool guy. He didn't deserve what those jackasses did to him." Santana said. Rachel smiled. "So how's Julliard?" she asked.

"Its amazing. I really feel like that's where I belong. I really fit in there." Rachel said, blushing.

"Everyone always knew you'd make it. That's why they picked on you so much." Santana said softly. Rachel smiled shyly.

"Even you?" Santana nodded. "But you were always saying you were so much better than me."

"You don't see me at Julliard, do you? You're the one who made it, Berry. No one else." Santana said.

"Columbia is still a pretty big deal." Rachel argued.

"That's not my point. I'm talking about singing." Santana said. Rachel smiled before she noticed that the shop was closing. "Uh... I have to go. I have a class at eleven and its getting late. Would you want to meet up sometime soon?" Santana asked. Rachel nodded. "What are you doing at eight tomorrow?"

"Nothing." Santana pulled out her phone.

"Is your number still the same?" she asked. Rachel nodded. "Cool. I'll text you. We can meet here again, if you want."

"Sure. See you tomorrow." Rachel said, smiling. Santana smiled back.

"Bye, Berry." she said.

The next morning, Santana sat at the exact same table, waiting for the diva. "I got what you ordered last night." she said, smiling as the girl appeared in front of her.

"You didn't have to do that." Rachel said. Santana shrugged.

"Its no big deal. The line is even longer than when I got here. I didn't want you to have to stand in that." she said. Rachel smiled gratefully before sitting down.

"Thank you." she said, sipping the drink. Santana nodded.

"So... How's Finnocence?" she asked casually. Rachel shrugged.

"I haven't spoken to him since graduation when I broke up with him." she answered. Santana raised an eyebrow.

"I can honestly say that I didn't see that one coming." she said. Rachel shrugged.

"He wanted different things than I did." she said. Santana nodded.

"I can respect that." she said. Rachel smiled. "This has been kind of nice. I haven't really talked to anyone from Lima since I moved here. Britt and I broke up after graduation." she said. Rachel nodded.

"I heard about that... I'm sorry."

"Its whatever. I've moved on." Santana said, smiling at Rachel before looking at her watch. "Crap... Its going to take me awhile to get to campus... I don't want to go though." she admitted. Rachel blushed. "Why don't you come over to my apartment tonight? I... I'll cook something. Are you still vegan?" Rachel shook her head.

"Its hard to be a vegan college student." she said. Santana nodded.

"I'll text you my address later. See you tonight at seven?" Rachel nodded and Santana grinned. "Great. See you later." she said, walking out of the shop.

Rachel knocked on Santana's apartment door and could hear the Latina cursing in Spanish before opening the door. "Hey." Santana said, putting on a frustrated smile.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked. Santana nodded.

"I went to get ready while the food was cooking, but got distracted and dinner kind of burned... Don't worry, though. I have this deli down the street on speed dial." she said. Rachel smiled.

"If it helps, you look amazing." she said. Santana grinned and let the diva in.

"So do you." she said, leading her into the living room.

"I like your apartment, Santana." Rachel said after Santana ordered their dinner.

"Thanks. Do you want to watch a movie or something?" Rachel nodded and they picked out a movie together. "So..."

"So..." Rachel said. Santana blushed. "What?"

"Nothing. You're just nothing like I remember. Its a good thing, I promise." Santana said. Rachel smiled softly.

"You seem a lot more..."

"Nice?" Santana guessed with a smile. Rachel laughed and Santana couldn't help it. She leaned in and connected their lips. "Whoa." Santana whispered when they broke apart.

"Yea... Whoa." Rachel echoed softly.

"That was... unexpected." Santana said. Rachel nodded.

"Would you want to do it again?" she asked carefully. Santana met her eyes and nodded as Rachel kissed her again. They only broke apart when they heard a knock on Santana's door.

"I'm just going to... Go get the food." the Latina said, standing up. Rachel nodded absently. "Are you okay?" Santana asked. Rachel looked up and gave her a smile. "Cool. I'll be right back." she said, going to answer her door.

"Santana what was that?" Rachel asked when she returned.

"I don't really know... But I don't want it to stop." Santana answered.

"Santana, this is the third night you've invited me over to try you're cooking. The past two have ended up with us eating take out... Am I ever going to get to find out if you can actually cook?" Rachel teased. Santana glared at the diva.

"Its not my fault I get distracted. The second time was your fault, by the way. You're the one who kissed me as soon as you got here." she said. Rachel smiled. "And yes you are. I cooked this earlier so I wouldn't get distracted. Its already on the table. Hurry before it gets cold." Santana said, sneaking in one kiss. Rachel walked into the dining room and gasped. Santana had obviously taken a lot of care in making the appearance of the room very romantic.

"Santana..."

"Do you like it?" the Latina asked. Rachel nodded. "Good, because I kind of have a question for you." she said.

"What?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Santana whispered nervously. Rachel smiled.

"You want me to be your girlfriend?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Santana asked, smiling at the diva. Rachel blushed.

"Of course I'll be your girlfriend." she said, kissing the Latina.

"You want me to meet your friends?" Rachel asked the next day. Santana nodded.

"You're my girlfriend. Of course I do. Its nothing formal. Just a dinner party at my place. I'll be there the entire time, I promise." she said gently, kissing the diva. Rachel smiled and nodded.

"Okay. I'll come." she said. That night, she was knocking on Santana's door. "Hey." she said when her girlfriend answered.

"Hi." Santana said, smiling at the diva before grabbing her hand and pulling her into the apartment. "Guys, this is Rachel, my girlfriend. Rach, these are my friends, Mitch, Ross, Todd, Bobby, Emma, Erin, and Mindy." Santana said. Rachel smiled shyly.

"Aw... She's shy Lopez." Emma said. Santana glared at her friend before wrapping an arm around Rachel's waist.

"Back off." she said, kissing the side of Rachel's head. "You okay?" she whispered. Rachel nodded and allowed Santana to pull her over to the couch.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Santana asked after everyone left. Rachel smiled. "I know Emma was a bitch tonight, but it has nothing to do with you... Well it kind of does. She's liked me for awhile, but I'm not interested in her."

"It was fine. I had you there." Rachel said. Santana grinned as Rachel hugged her. "Thank you for inviting me. It meant a lot."

"No problem Rach. Can you stay a little bit or do you have to go?" Santana asked.

"I can stay for a bit." Rachel said, smiling as Santana's face lit up.

"Rach, you okay?" Santana asked after they were questioned by the police. Rachel nodded and hugged her girlfriend. "Its okay baby. I love you."

"I love you too. I was just so scared."

"I know. I was too. Do you want to move?" Santana asked. Rachel shook her head.

"No... This is a relatively safe neighborhood. There's a possibility of danger anywhere you go." she said. Santana nodded and kissed the diva.

"I just want you to feel safe."

"As long as I'm with you, I do." Rachel answered, kissing the Latina she'd fallen in love with three years ago and planned to love for the rest of her life.