There you go, 3rd chapter! I've had a lot of time today so, yeah =)

Sorry for any mistakes. And thank you for everything. Let me know what you think !

I don't own the characters or anything.

Enjoy!

Brittany paid the taxi driver, and looked at the building in front of her. She had only one suitcase with her. The company who hired her had arranger the transportation on her other stuff, mostly clothes, and she was happy to not be drowning under luggages.

She didn't take much from France though. 'A fresh start is a fresh start for a reason' she thought.

Taking in the very nice and fancy appearance of the building, the blonde wasn't surprised to see that Rachel had done well for herself. She stepped forward grabbing her luggage with shaky hands. Soon she was let in the lobby and walked in the direction of the elevator. She smiled at one memory came to her mind. It was around the middle of her year as an exchange student.

"How do you see yourself in 5 years B ?" The blonde looked up from her computer, where she was writing a long email to her parents.

"What do you mean how do I see myself in 5 years ? Won't I always see myself the same? I'll always be just me, right ?"

"Yes of course you will B!" Rachel giggled and the adorableness of her friend. "I mean where do you want to be ? What do you want to be doing ? You know ?"

"Oh ! Well that's easy. I'll be living with Santana, probably in New York city. And you will be there too !" Brittany answered matter of factly like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Rachel frowned a little bit, but Brittany acted like she didn't notice. She knew the brunette still had her reservations on the relationship she shared with Santana. Well, probably no anymore actually, but Rachel still was uncertain regarding what would happen to the girls once Brittany would leave Lima. The blonde had no idea at the time how much of a struggle it would be.

"That's nice. And of course I'll be here." She said winking. "New York is the dream after all! I myself can only tell you the one thing I know : if in 5 years I am indeed living n New York, in a nice building with a big lobby and everything, I'll be in Paradise!"

'She did it. Way to go!' It made the french girl so happy for her friend. At the same time she felt terrible for not even knowing how Rachel got where she was. She had missed so much, and she would never be able to take those years back.

The door in front of her opened slowly, leaving nothing between her and her american sister. And for a few seconds, it was like nothing had changed, like the years didn't matter. They both stared at each other a little longer, before Brittany decided to say something in a soft voice.

"Rachel, it's so so good to see you. I…" she sighed. "I've missed you so much." Tears were already gathering in her eyes but she didn't even try to hide it. Besides, Rachel's eyes were not dry either.

"I missed you too B. Come on in, let's not let my neighbors enjoy the show longer."

Brittany walked in the large apartment, nicely decorated, Rachel style. She didn't look around too long though, wanting to focus on her friend instead.

"Do you want something to drink ? Tea ? Soda ? Beer ? Wine ? Café ?" She added almost laughing.

"Water is fine, thank you Rach' " The old nickname easily came out of her mouth without her saying it on purpose. But the brunette didn't seem to mind. She went in the kitchen to get theirs drinks. When she got back, Brittany was holding a frame she found on top of the piano. It was a picture of the 2 women on graduation day. She looked at herself, so young and happy. She wasn't really unhappy now, but the past few years had been hard on her. The girl in the picture was so carefree and sure everything would turn out right that it was painful to watch.

They were both sitting in the couch now, facing each other. Rachel spoke first.

"Brittany, what is going on here ?" She seemed to confused with everything, and the blonde knew it was the worst feeling in the world for her friend.

"I have been hired to work here in New York Rachel, right after I got my diploma. It has been a long time coming, but it finally happened."

"I didn't think you wee still going to want to live here B, after you just… left us all." Brittany frowned at the words, but they were correct? She did leave everyone behind, voluntarily.

"I… Rachel you will never know how sorry I am for everything. I just… At the time it felt like the right thing to let… 'her' go, and I couldn't keep talking to you without it hurting me more each time… I know it was terribly selfish of me, and believe me I've never felt worse about anything. The thing is, I just didn't see any other way." Brittany felt so ashamed. She couldn't even look not Rachel's eyes while speaking, facing the floor instead.

And then her friend said the most surprising words ever in a sigh.

"I understand B." She took a deep breath before continuing : "I really do. Things went to hell and you just needed to escape a reality you hated. It doesn't make you a bad person. You've always been so perfect all the time, that this only made you human. Nobody's flawless, we all make mistakes."

Brittany was speechless. She did not expect her friend to be the one to find her excuses for what happened. But she couldn't say she was really surprised. Rachel had always been one of the best people she ever met, and the past few years hadn't change that.

Brittany kept apologizing for at least 10 more minutes, and then they talked about the technicalities of Brittany's moving. Soon the conversation took a different turn.

"B, not that I am not very very happy to have you back my life, but… Wait I do have you back right? You're not gonna leave again right ?" Rachel tried to joke, but Brittany could tell she was at least half serious. She realized once more how much she had hurt her friend, and felt even more guilty.

She answered seriously : "No Rach', I'm back for you. I'm not leaving again, I promise."

"Ok great!" Relief was all over her face. "So, as I was saying, I am very happy that you're here, but there is one thing I can't help but wondering. Do you know that… I mean she, she, she…"

A stammering Rachel was a unique sight, and Brittany would have laughed if the discussion had been on anything else.

"I know that she lives here now too, yes." Brittany figured there was no use in trying to avoid the huge elephant in the room. She tried to keep her eyes on Rachel, but had to look down at some point. The pain she felt was almost too much to handle. For so long, she had avoiding anything reminding her of Santana, and it wasn't that hard back in France. Nobody there knew her and their history except for her close family. She never talked about her, and kept their pictures and stuffs very well hidden. It had become a habit but this time was over.

She knew that however, and had been preparing herself for this kind of situations. 'I can handle it.'

"Oh you do… And huh… Are you going to do something about it ? Or just… I mean, this is a very big city, with lots and lots of people, you could easily live here and not even…"

"No Rach', that's not… I am not going to be here and pretend that… It's really not the plan. There is no way on hell I could ever live in the same city as Santana freaking Lopez and not 'do something about it' like you said." She didn't want to sound harsh and anything, but she was tired of pretending that she was fine without the latina. She could never be anything remotely close to fine without her. Her heart was aching and the thought of going on living her life this way.

She added sadly in a whisper : "I could barely make it this past few years living on the same planet as her and not having her in my life."

The sight in front go Rachel was heartbreaking. She had never seen her friend so fragile and vulnerable. Not even when she was in Lima and her little sister had to go to the hospital because she injured herself pretty bad falling from a tree. Back then, she had felt so terrible for not being there for Emilie, going on and on about what a 'bad sister' she was.

"I didn't know B…" the brunette replied softly, reaching her hand out to hold Brittany's. "We all figured that you moved on and forward and just… Phewww I don't even know anymore what we thought. It seems crazy now. I should have known that you were not doing fine after… I am so sorry." Rachel was so perfect. She had done nothing wrong, and yet there she was, feeling bad for Brittany.

"It's ok, I made the bed I'm sleeping in, or something." She said almost cracking up a smile.

"Soooo, what now B ?"

"Well right now I'm here with you, and then I'll go to me fancy new apartment. I haven't even seen it yet, but I've been told that it's all ready for me. Which is a relief, I really don't feel like moving furnitures." Brittany said simply.

"Oh ok, that's great, I'm glad everything has been taken care of for you." There was the Rachel Brittany had always known. The girl aways took care of the blonde, and obviously enjoyed when somebody did it for her.

"But actually, what I meant with 'what now' is more what are you gonna do, you know, what's your plan with… ?" Rachel seemed hesitant.

"You can say her name you know. I can handle it, I'm not gonna break down. I did that enough already, and I want to put this whining stuff behind me." Brittany said with force. "And to answer your question, there's only what thing to do now. And I wouldn't be here in New York for any other reason. I am going to get Santana back."

Nobody said anything for a while. It was like everything was frozen in time. Brittany wondered what Rachel's silence meant. It was very strange? She should have screaming and screaming again, or she should have jumped into Brittany's arms. Or whatever. But not this, that silence. It wasn't habitual and it scared Brittany more than anything. Rachel kept looking at her thinking hard.

"It's been a long time B, are you sure this is a good idea ? Are you even sure this is what you really want ?" Rachel asked in an incredibly quiet voice.

Brittany had no words. She didn't know what to answer to this simple yet meaningless question. It was like she was back being the exchange student who didn't understand english. What was Rachel saying ? Why was she saying that ?

"You were there Rachel, you were there when we fell in love! How can you ask me if this is what I really want ?" she sounded mad but in reality she was just taken aback and disappointed and hurt. Of course she knew she had absolutely no right to be, because come on, she did break up with Santana after all, and never looked back for 4 years.

"B, don't be angry at me. It's just so out of nowhere and sudden. Like paaaf, you get a job and move to New York, and all of a sudden you want Santana back ?" She sounded almost defensive of the latina, which was weird. They never really became friends, even if Brittany's relationship with her made Santana behave better towards the brunette. What was going on ?

'I'm reading too much into this.' the blonde pondered.

"It's not like that Rach'. I know that what it seems like, but like I said, the dream never changed. Do you remember ? Me breaking up with her never meant I stopped wanting what I wanted. You may not understand, but you have to believe me. I'm not saying anything lightly here, trust me. I've had so much time to think about all of this, and I never doubted myself and my feelings. I mean every word I'm saying. And I am ready to fight for this today and every day that's coming. This is serious. Please, please, I'm begging you, believe me."

Tears were now freely coming down Brittany's cheeks. She put her face in her hands and brought her knees to her chest, sobbing softly.

Rachel enlaced her with both of her arms, and whispered :"Shhhh, it's ok B. It's ok. I'm sorry, I just needed to be sure. Of course this is serious. Shhh, calm down sweetie, it's all good…"

"Rachel, do you think I am too late ?" It wasn't a very smart question, for many reasons. What if Rachel said 'yes I do' ? What then ?

'Besides they're not even friends. She couldn't possibly know.'

Surprisingly, Rachel answered quickly, not missing a bit : "I don't know B. She's been through so much and she isn't… She doesn't even want to hear your name anymore or anything. She's not the same anymore."

"What, what do you mean ?" Brittany didn't even think to ask how her friend knew that.

"When you…" she didn't finish her sentence.

"You can say it you know." Both girls looked at each other, both understanding the silent words their eyes were thinking.

"When you broke up with her, for a while it was like… She didn't want to believe it. She acted like nothing happen, she didn't even want to acknowledge the facts. Nobody was allowed to mention it in front of her or she would just… Explode in rage, literately. You know how scary she can be!"

Rachel paused as Brittany nodded with a smile. While she had never found Santana, not like that anyway, she knew she probably was the only person in this case. But then again, the latina had never acted with anybody else the way she did with her.

Rachel continued : "But the it hit her, that you weren't coming back, that she was not going to get a call from you crying and apologizing and asking for her back. I've never seen anything like that… It's like she… disappeared. She wasn't there anymore. She just… shut down. We were all so worried she wouldn't come on of this state. But then she did and for a while I thought that things were finally getting better. But I soon realized that she was acting like nothing happened again, but it was even worse. She acted like you never happened. Never mentioned your name again, and that was it. Like the best thing that ever happened to her vanished into nothing. Sometimes I think that she is also into this nothingness. Stuck. Anyone who knows could tell you how empty she looks. I mean, she looks fine on the outside, but if you take a better look, it isn't hard to see that she never recovered from… You. She has nothing to give anymore."

Rachel took a breath. She seemed emotionally exhausted from her speak. "To this day, she still never talks about you. Well nobody does really, especially around her. This is how she chose to handle what happened, and I can't blame her. But she seems to be doing better this days, just a little tiny bit, but still, and I would hate for your return to turn her head upside down again."

The long speech left Brittany breathless. She had never heard anything from Santana's state after they… separated. She couldn't believe she did this. To the one person in the whole world she loved the most. She had promised her over and over that she would never hurt in this way, and yet that's exactly what she did. She would never forgive herself.

"I… I never meant to hurt her. I just wanted her to be happy, and it wasn't working anymore. I wanted to set her free, to allow her to live her life freely, because our relationship was tearing both of us down. I could see how badly she was taking it, it was slowly destroying us both. It was too hard Rachel, I…"

Brittany barely took the time to breath.

"I didn't know, Rachel I swear, if I could go back I would have never… I made the biggest mistake of my life, I wish I could…" Between her accent and her sobs, only someone very used to her could have understood a single word she said. Luckily Rachel had always been the best in that task.

"Brittany sweetie there's nothing you can do to change what happened. I didn't say all of that to make you feel worse about yourself. I just want you to be prepared… Santana isn't going to look at you the way she used to. She isn't going to be the girl you knew. She's always been so different with you. I hope you don't it too hard."

"I know all of that, and I'm ready. I've never been more ready in my life." Brittany took a deep breath, and wondered : "How do you know so much about her ?"

She was genuinely curious as to why the brunette was so protective of the latina.

"Well, we kinda… became friends after you… It was hard for both of us, and it brought us together in some weird way, as incredible as it sounds. As a matter of fact, she's supposed to come for dinner tonight, although she's been whining about it for days, claiming that veggie's food is crap. Whatever."

Brittany giggled. That was so Santana. She had a hard time imaging Santana and Rachel being friends though. It was surreal. 'What else Have I missed ?'

Then she started panicking. Santana was coming here. For dinner. Like here, where Brittany was right now. In the same building, same apartment, same room, with Rachel.

'Like whaaaat ?!'

"Relax B, she won't be here for another…" she looked at her watch and surprise appeared on her face. "10 minutes! Oh my God, and she's never late! Brittany, what do we do ? Oh my God oh my God, this is a disaster, nothing is ready, and she is going to think I set this up! I'm so dead!"

"No don't worry Rach', I can go really quick. I don't want to ambush her, this would be wrong on so many levels. Besides if you're friends now, she wouldn't kill you!" Brittany almost joked.

Rachel seemed relieved and thankful. "Really ? Ok, thank you B! I got scared for a while there. You have to hurry though. Call me tomorrow ok, we'll meet again and talk more. I am so happy to have you back. I've missed you so much, I can't even…"

"I missed you too sis!" Brittany replied meaningfully, facing Rachel's sincere eyes. She grabbed her purse and jacket and walked with Rachel to the door. As they quickly hugged, her heart was beating so fast at the thought that Santana would be here, breathing the same oxygen, in such a short while. Maybe she could hide out in the street, just to watch her arrive and go in.

'Stalker much ?' she thought, rolling her eyes at herself. And that made her think of her first moments with Santana, especially one.

It had been two weeks since Brittany had started high school, and things had been going good. Her english was improving fast and she was now much better at understanding a conversation. She could even talk and make sense. She had made a few friends already, and everyone in school seemed interesting in her in some way, and very curious. She had been asked all kind of random questions about France, which made her giggle most of the time. It was never disrespectful.

'They all love France it seems!'. She couldn't blame them though, France rocks!

She had joined the Glee club, which was very fun. A place where all you to do is sing and dance and have fun and make friends to hang out with. I mean come on, does it ever get better than that ? Everyone had been pretty impressed by her dancing skills, and they all had welcomed her with joy.

There was one thing that didn't suit with her though. Santana while being nothing but polite to her, barely ever acknowledged her presence, and never attempted t talk to her again. She had no idea what was up with that ?

She on the other hand, had had a very hard time not staring at the girl. She was fascinating, and Brittany wanted nothing more but get to know her. But the latina remained silent towards her, and even towards Rachel, who noticed as well.

One time, they were lying on Brittany's bed silently listening to music, when Rachel spoke out of nowhere : "I wonder what's up with Santana ?"

The blonde tried to answer nonchalantly : "What do you mean ?"

She wanted to bring the subject but didn't know how.

"Well, she's been weirdly nice to me. I mean, not really nice, but she hasn't been a pain in the ass, which is probably the same when this is Santana we're talking about."

"Hmm, she hasn't talked to me since the first day of school. And I don't know her, I wouldn't know… Do you think something's wrong with her ?" Brittany asked a little bit too fast, making Rachel laugh.

"Breath B! Your english is very much better now, but you still need t breath !" the brunette teased.

"Look who's talking!" Brittany replied, smirking.

"Whatever! And huh, no I don't think anything is wrong with Santana, she's been acting the same to everyone else. That's what makes this so weird. But anyway, let's go see what we're going to wear for tomorrow's party!" the brunette said, suddenly walking outside of the room.

Brittany knew the conversation was over, and even though she would have liked to keep talking about her new favorite subject, she knew she couldn't. She followed Rachel, wondering if the latina would show up at the party.

The next day, she decided to straight up ask Santana is she was indeed going to the party. At lunch break, she saw her walking alone in the halls, and followed her from a distance. The latina looked behind her and saw her; she barely waved at her and kept walking. This was so discouraging for the blonde. But she was tenacious. After a while of walking behind her, Santana paused, and turned around, surprising Brittany.

"Are you following me" she asked in disbelief, before her eyes softened as the met with Brittany's. The blonde's knees went jelly.

"No, I mean yes, but I like saying 'walking closely behind someone' better" she tried with a tiny smile. Santana eyebrows went up on her face, and then she looked like she was thinking of something to say. Brittany decided to speak next, but once again, the latina surprised her in the nicest way.

"Well, you can stalk me anytime Brittany". The flirtatious tone of Santana's voice left the blonde speechless, but she knew she had to recover quickly, before the latina could turn around and walk away.

With an obvious blush on her face, that Santana didn't miss considering the smirk on her face, Brittany asked : "Are you coming to the party tonight ?"

"Yes I am, why ?" The latina seemed surprised by the question.

"Do you maybe want to go together ?"

'Woooo, way to be forward BRITTANY!'. Not that she wasn't always like that, but here in Lima, she had learnt to be more careful with her words. She didn't like it though, and figured being herself with the beautiful girl on front of her was the best way to deal with all the things she was making her feel.

'Because that's a freaking mess yeah!'

To say that the latina was completely surprised was the understatement of the century. Brittany had heard talks about her, and knew she was a player. Everyone in school, boys and girls, wanted her or wanted to be like her, and she knew it. After all, Brittany thought, she was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.

She guessed that the shorter girl standing in front of her wasn't used to being asked out like that, more used to being the one in control. But Brittany wasn't like anybody else.

"Are you asking me out ?" Santana asked, still not entirely sure of what was going on.

"I… I just want to go to the party with you. I want to get to know you, and I thought this would be a good way. Will you go with me ?" Brittany stated simply. She kept on eyes on the latina the all time, making her look down. The confident girl disappeared, leaving a simple and yet amazingly beautiful girl on front of Brittany. She couldn't take her eyes off of her.

Santana looked up, a blush still on her face, and stared back into the blonde's blue eyes.

Nobody said anything for a while, but things didn't get awkward. It was like something happened in this hallway. Something neither one of them could explain, even months later. Like two worlds collided, making Brittany's a part of Santana's and the other way around too. Neither girl fully understood what happened that day, but both felt that it was one of those moments that you remember forever.

Finally, Santana opened her mouth to say : "I'll pick you up at 8. See you then". It was a simple yet amazing answer. Like the words were a melody to Brittany's ears. The latina smiled at her and turned around. It wasn't the smile Santana usually had on her face. It was a smile Brittany had never seen on her before. A smile that could light up a dark room, a smile that nobody could ever forget. A smile that you could get high on, and never want to let go. A smile that Brittany would miss everyday a few years later.

'What just happened ?' She wondered. She couldn't help but feel impatient and anxious about the party. She was going with Santana, and she couldn't be happier !