Lima, Ohio, Summer Before Senior Year

Brittany lay on Santana's bed, playing with the blanket. Santana was looking over the forms she needed to fill out for cheerleading camp that summer. She chewed on the pen in her hand.

"Hey San?" Brittany whispered.

"Hmm?" Santana replied.

"Do you really want to do cheerleading camp? I mean, Coach Sylvester told us that the instructor was about as useful as a beached whale and then said she kinda looked like one on top of that. I didn't really get much better either."

"Well then what do you suggest we do?" Santana asked. "Do you really want to stay in Lima all summer doing nothing? I think I'd kill myself." Brittany flopped onto her stomach and scooted over to the edge where Santana was leaning.

"I want to see the sunrise." She said.

"Ok. We'll get up every morning at 4 and climb onto the roof of the dorm so you can see the sunrise." Santana suggested.

"Not from cheerleading camp!" Brittany giggled. "I want to see it over the ocean!"

"Like...the Atlantic ocean..." Santana stated, turning to look at Brittany. "B, that's like...a day's worth of driving away from cheerleading camp."

"Then we're not going to cheerleading camp." Brittany replied. "Come on, San...my aunt lives right on the beach. We could stay with her!"

"Your...gay...aunt." Santana clarified.

"Yeah, she's happy."

"And married to a woman." The brunette pointed out.

"That too." Brittany added. "Come on, San, we could go there for a few days, and then...we'll see! If you want to come back and do cheerleading camp. But can we go? Pleaassee? This'll be the last vacation we'll have as high school students. Pleeaaassee?" She pouted and gave Santana puppy dog eyes. Santana sighed.

"B, this is ridiculous. We haven't planned anything out!"

"Sure we did!" Brittany flopped on her back and started counting on her fingers. "You have a car. I have an aunt. Let's go!"

"That's not what I mean, B. I mean we can't just up and leave. I have to clear it with my parents and you have to clear it with yours. And then we have to call up your aunt..." Without warning, Brittany got off the bed and all but sprinted downstairs. Santana gave an exasperated sigh and chased after her, knowing full well what she was going to do. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where her mom was preparing dinner.

"Hey, Mrs. Lopez!" Brittany chimed in.

"Hi girls, dinner isn't ready yet." Mrs. Lopez said.

"Um...I was wondering..."

"Mom, don't listen to her. She's gone crazy." Santana interjected. Brittany shot her a "hush you" look before continuing.

"So...Santana and I..."

"Just her, mom. Not me."

"Well, I was thinking that since it was the last summer before junior year..."

"It's the only summer before junior year." Santana corrected but Brittany ignored her.

"I wanted to take Santana and go out to the east coast! My aunt Katie lives over there and I'm sure she'd be happy to let us stay with her for a couple of days."

"What about cheerleading camp?" Mrs. Lopez asked.

"I dunno. Maybe we'll skip it." Brittany shrugged.

"We are not skipping cheerleading camp!" Santana all but shouted. "God..." She folded her arms. Her mom kept chopping up the eggplant and Santana counted down the seconds before she rejected the idea.

"I think that's a great idea." Santana almost fell over in shock.

"Mom!"

"Oh, San." Her mom rolled her eyes. "You've been going to cheerleading camp and coming back complaining how you didn't learn anything! Why waste money on something that's completely unnecessary? I think you should go with Brittany, it'll be fun."

"Mom!" Santana repeated. "I can't just..."

"Yay! I'm going to go call my mom and tell her!" Santana didn't even have a chance to register what was going on in the house when Brittany opened up her phone and dialed home. Santana knew what Brittany's mother was going to say. It was going to be the same response she gave whenever Brittany asked if Santana could sleep over, or go to a party or do just about anything.

"She said yes!" Brittany squealed as if she were surprised by the response.

"But your aunt..."

"She loves me, she'll definitely say yes!" Brittany replied, opening up her phone again and dialing a different number. Santana looked at her mom, pleading with her eyes to make the madness stop. Her mother simply smiled at her when Brittany hung up and hugged Santana saying that everyone had agreed. Santana felt like curling up in her bed and waiting until this dream was all over.

It certainly didn't register when Santana found herself loading up two dufflebags in the back of her blue mini coop roughly a week later. When she stopped and looked at Brittany, printed out sheets of directions in hand while Santana herself held the bags of clothes, towels and other necessities, she all but gave up.

"How the hell did I let myself get talked into this?" She wondered but she knew the answer. It was the same way that she got talked into doing glee. When Sue Sylvester needed spies in the group, Santana initially didn't care but Brittany, after seeing the performance in the auditorium, was so excited by the prospect.

"They get to dance! All the time! And sing!" Brittany bounced around excitedly. When Santana had said that glee was stupid, Brittany pouted and batted her eye lashes until Santana, in a huff, gave in. It was the same way that Brittany had gotten them to "experiment" with each other the first time (but not the subsequent times. Santana would never admit that it was much better with Brittany than any of her boyfriends.)

Of course, this time was no exception. So, dazed and confused at six in the morning, Santana got into the car with Brittany in the passenger seat. Her mother leaned in through the window.

"You girls have fun." She said, winking at Santana. Santana felt like she wanted to bang her head against the wheel of the car until she woke up. "Not too much fun. Brit, I'm asking you to keep an eye on Santana."

"Yes Ma'am!" Brittany did a fake salute and Santana mouthed "oh my god why" several times. She started the car and backed out of the driveway, Brittany cheering her on. By the time Santana realized that all she had to do was fake engine trouble, they were well on their way out of Ohio.

"I just want to make one thing clear." Santana said firmly.

"Yeah?"

"We are only staying there for a few days, no more."

"Ok, San, whatever you say." Brittany replied but they both somehow knew it was going to be more than just a few days. If the four dufflebags in the back were any indication, they had enough clothes for two weeks. Brittany kept herself busy by turning on the radio and rolling down the windows singing at the top of her lungs to Rhianna. Santana had to fight back a smile that time. No matter what the situation, Brittany could always make it lighthearted. As much as she didn't understand why she was driving well over ten hours to Boston where Brittany's gay aunt and her wife resided, some part of her couldn't resist the idea of spending time alone with the bubbly blond. In less than an hour, Santana had joined Brittany in practically screaming songs to the open wind.

Four rest stops and eleven hours later, they arrived in Cape Cod. Santana and Brittany had taken turns driving so that Santana wouldn't wear herself out and it was Brittany who pulled into the driveway of a small beach house only two miles from the actual shore. Two Yorkies dashed outside to greet them, followed by a tall blonde woman who looked startlingly similar to Brittany, just older and tanner.

"Hey Aunt Katie!" Brittany scrambled out of the car to give her a hug.

"Hey Baby B." Santana fought back a laugh when she heard the pet name. "Oh, look at you, you've grown so much."

"Thanks! This is Santana." Santana walked around the car and shook hands with her.

"It's nice to finally meet you." Katie said. "Brittany won't shut up about you. Whenever I talk to her it's always 'Santana and I did this' or 'Santana helped me do this.' It's good to put a face to the name."

"Thanks, it's nice to meet you too." Santana said politely. Brittany stooped down and picked up one of the Yorkies.

"San, this is Bungie! The other one is Cord. Bungie Cord!" She held the Yorkie close to Santana's face and she recoiled slightly upon receiving a doggie slobber facial. "He likes you!" Santana wiped away the drool and proceeded to get the bags from the back. She hauled two over one shoulder and two over the other.

"Where should I put them?" She asked.

"Oh, just drop them in the living room. We have a spare bedroom upstairs you two can share. I'll show you in just a minute." Katie shouted after her. When Santana went into the house, Katie turned to Brittany who was kissing and playing with Bungie.

"She's pretty." Katie observed. Brittany broke into a grin and stared at the doorway where Santana had entered.

"Yeah." She said bashfully.

"I can see why you're enamored. She's pretty, she's got a kickass body. Not as kickass as yours, B, but damn."

"I really, really like her Aunt Katie." Brittany admitted, putting Bungie down and picking up Cord. Her aunt smiled warmly.

"I remember the first time you called me up and told me about her." She reminisced. "You were almost in tears, B. You told me, 'Aunt K, how did you know you liked Aunt Ash?' You were so cute."

"I really like her." Brittany repeated.

"Do you love her?" Katie asked.

"Maybe..." Brittany chewed on her lip and then nodded. "Yeah."

"Does she love you?" Brittany cast a longing glance across the horizon.

"I dunno." She answered. "I mean...we...we do stuff all the time. But she does that with boys too. She said that 'sex wasn't dating' and that we're Cheerios and we can't do stuff like kiss in school." Katie nodded knowingly.

"I know how you feel, Baby B." She put a hand on Brittany's shoulder. "She's probably just scared." The two of them turned towards the house when they heard a loud crash followed by a string of muffled curses.

"San!" Brittany put the Yorki down and headed up the stairs.

"B!" Katie shouted. Brittany turned around, glancing nervously inside the house because there was another loud thud. "You're in Cape Cod. Make things happen!" Brittany flashed her a quick smile before running inside to assist Santana in whatever she was doing. Her aunt stood outside with the dogs excitedly running around the car. She chuckled a little when she saw the silhouette of the two girls, the brunette leaning on the blond for support as they headed to the kitchen to find a first aid kit. They grow up too fast, she thought to herself.

"Ok, come on BC, let's go!" She said, clapping her hands and racing the two brown dogs up the stairs and into the house. It was the beginning of the long stay for Brittany and Santana on the east coast.


Author's note: Ok, part of the reason I was really reluctant to put this fic up was because it kind of gets confusing here. I was planning on alternating a chapter before the summer and a chapter after Brittany's to give the effect of happiness and loss. So please leave feedback as to how it's going so far! I love feedback so very much.