The closer your get to the weekend, the more excited you get. A Friday off and a weekend away with your new best friend sounds perfect to you. Especially a weekend away in a large city. You miss cities.
You had fun watching Summer on Tuesday after school. You picked her up and took her back to her house where you ate popcorn and watched movies until Brittany got home. It was really way easier than you thought it would be. Summer is a very low maintenance child. She's also a very nosey one, asking you many questions about your personal life. You just chalked it up to a curious mind and answered her questions as honestly as you could.
Brittany's mom dropped by halfway into Finding Nemo to drop off a hammer that she borrowed from Brittany, but you feel like she was more checking up on you than returning the tool. She was really nice though and you talked to her for about twenty minutes about medicine and your family and work until you figure she decided to like you enough to leave you alone with her grandchild.
When you tell Brittany about her mom stopping by, she rolls her eyes and apologizes. You stay long enough for Brittany to show you what she bought and have a cup of hot tea on the front porch bench. Brittany leans into you like she did that one night in front of the fire and you can't help, but move in any way you can to accommodate that. As she talked about shopping with her friend, Sugar, who she met in college, a man walked by with his dog. He was an older overweight man who you're sure is a steak away from a heart attack.
However as he walks by with his small dog, he looks up at you and Brittany. When he finds you both on the porch, he scowls and Brittany sits up and looks away, not touching you. You scowl back at the man, probably harder than he did.
Even after he's gone, Brittany won't lean on you again and she's grown quiet. You don't know what happened, but you don't like it. Finally she excuses herself to go inside and check on Summer and you sense that she's ready for you to leave so you say goodbye, missing the hug that you're so used to getting from her when you leave.
Finally, after a week of sick kids, Friday morning arrived. You both decided that you'll pick Brittany up from her house after she drops Summer off at school. When you pull up to her house, the door opens and Brittany walks out with her bag over her shoulder.
You don't even have to get out of the car because she locks the door and walks out to the car with a huge smile. Once she's settled in the passenger's seat, you take off. She seems really excited.
She's a little nervous on the plane ride out of the Lima and looks awestruck as you walk about the Cleveland airport for your connection flight. "Nervous?" you ask as you take your seat on the huge plane to Philadelphia.
"A little," she takes a deep breath. "I've only ever flown to Arizona for my cousin's wedding. I was ten."
You think about that for a moment. Your parents haven't always been the best parents, but they took you all over the world with them. You used to think that every summer, everyone's family got on a plane and flew out of the country.
You look over at the nervous girl in the seat next to you and take her hand. Your fingers lace through hers on their own, but she doesn't move to stop it. She holds tight to your hand as the pilot announces that it's almost time to take off.
Once you're in the air, she relaxes a little bit. You gave her the window seat so that she could see whatever she wanted. You hate to have to work, but you do have to. You have some things to take care of so you pull out your laptop and start working, leaving Brittany to enjoy the view and listen to the music on her MP3 player.
When you're told to put your laptop up, Brittany takes your hand, her fingers between yours. You smile over at her and she nervously smiles back. Landing is smooth, but Brittany is ready to get off of the plane so you hop out of your seat and let her out so you're among the first to get off.
You grab a cab to your hotel and easily check in. You can already see all the people you're supposed to be meeting with milling around the ballroom. You have to go up to your room and change before you go to the conference.
As soon as you get to the room, you toss your bag on the singular bed in the room and open your bag to pull out your 'meeting people' clothes. Brittany walks to the window and looks out as she calls her mom to tell her that you both made it okay.
You change and tell Brittany to have fun at the spa. You're going to skip the luncheon so that you can take Brittany to a restaurant that you remember loving when you came here for a week in high school with your parents to, ironically, a medical conference.
You wait until Brittany gets off of the phone before you go to the conference. You've been sitting on the edge of the bed with your laptop open, checking your emails from the higher ups at the school district asking if you need anything. It's funny because most of the teachers don't like you, but the admins will do anything you want them to.
"Thank you for letting me come," Brittany turns to you from the window.
You look up from the screen. "I would have drug you here and forced you to relax if I had to."
She chuckles and walks over to you on the bed. She sits next to you.
You look over at her and ask, "What are you going to do today?"
"Um," Brittany pulls her phone out of her pocket and scans through something. "I have a massage at ten and then lunch with you."
You nod. "I'm jealous." You bump your shoulder with hers. "I don't have to go to the last lecture tonight because it's for nurses so I'll be done by three after lunch. Text me or something if you're going to take a nap or something so I can find something else to do."
"I don't think I'll be taking a nap," she smiles, "But thanks."
You sigh and stand. "I guess I'm going to this thing now. Ugh."
She stands with you and puts her hand on your shoulders giving you a small massage as you walk toward the door. "You can do it Dr. Lopez."
You stop at the door and she drops her arms. "I'll see you afterwards."
"Call me when you get out of the conference so I can get ready," Brittany leans on the wall next to the door. "I'll probably be just laying on the bed in a bathrobe after my massage."
That mental image of that makes you blush a little. Which is ridiculous. You're a doctor for god's sake. Naked bodies shouldn't make you do things like that. Especially the mental image of your bath robed best friend. You shake the image away and smile, "Have a nice massage."
"I will," she gives you a small wave as you turn around and leave.
The conference is not as bad as it could be. You meet some new people, mostly nurses and administrative type people. Your district is trying a new thing, having a doctor for the district instead of one nurse per school. It's really experimental and the people at the conference think it's fascinating.
You call Brittany on your way out of the ballroom. She tells you that she's going to change and she'll be ready when you get up to the room. As you ride up the elevator you take off the tailored blazer you were wearing. You hate dressing up. You miss your scrubs.
When you get to your room, you slide the key into the electronic lock and open the door. Brittany is laying on the bed, watching TV. She gets up when you walk in. You toss your jacket onto the bed and fall forward onto the bed with a groan. You hear a giggle and feel her hand rubbing your back. "That bad?"
"It's probably not. I've just explained how out school system works like fifty times," you turn your head to look at her. Her eyes are understanding and you feel like you could talk to her forever. However, you have to get back here after lunch so you need to leave soon. You push up off of the bed. "Alright, let's go so I can get back on time and you don't miss anything at the spa."
You walk to the restaurant and once you're seated you take a long drink of water. "How was your massage?"
"It was great," Brittany runs her finger over the table. "I feel great."
"Awesome," you lean back in your chair and run a hand through your hair.
"I usually don't have a lot of down time to think or whatever," Brittany licks her lips. "But I did have a lot of time to think after my massage while I was waiting for you." She takes a deep breath like she's about to say something important, but is interrupted by the server.
You quickly order because you want to know what she's about to say. When she orders, the server leaves, and you stay quiet waiting for her to finish.
Brittany takes a drink and looks over at you. "You haven't asked where Summer's dad is."
You have been wondering, but you've never asked. "It's none of my business."
She chuckles, "It's obvious you're not from Lima. Everyone likes to be in each other's business."
You nod to her. You're starting to understand that about the small town.
"Anyway," she takes a deep breath. "I don't know where Summer's dad is. In high school...I... It was a hard time for me." She looks nervous as she tells you this and you want to reach over and take her hand. You're about to when she start wringing her hand together. She smiles wistfully and looks up at you. "I fell in love." This makes you smile. The way her eyes light up make you so happy for her and the lucky guy.
Her eyes fall again and she takes a deep breath, looking shyly at you through your eyelashes. "I fell in love with a cheerleader. She was beautiful and smart. She was one of my best friends." Okay, not lucky guy. Lucky girl. You can't say you're really all that surprised. Brittany seems like the kind of person that could fall in love with anyone without being confined by gender. She's so quick to be kind.
You don't think you need to say anything. You don't really have anything to say at this point. You're just taking it all in. This side of Brittany that is so guarded that you feel privileged to see.
"But, at the time, and sometimes now, Lima isn't friendly to that kind of love," Brittany explains. "Somehow people around town started to find out. The kids in high school were so mean. I - I freaked out." The way her voice shakes unnerves you. You don't understand the way that must have felt. You want to wrap Brittany in your arms and tell her it'll all be okay.
She steadiest herself and continues, "So I slept with the first football player who approached me, trying to make me normal. I got pregnant my last semester of high school. Summer was probably the best thing that ever happen to me and I'd never take any of it back." She bites her lip. "I just... feel like I should tell you that most people in Lima are great. They're good people. But some people aren't so nice and most of the mean people still see me as that girl who fell in love with a cheerleader. Some people won't let their kids be in my class. Some people give me dirty looks when I'm at the store, but for the most part people in Lima are great."
"You can't help who you love," you tell her softly. You had a realization while she was speaking and have to ask, "That night when we were sitting on your front porch and that guy looked at us and you moved away from me?"
"Sometimes it's not a good thing to be associated with me in Lima," Brittany swallows and looks at you, "Especially if you're a girl."
"I can't think of anyone in Lima I'd rather be associated with," you smile across the table to her.
She seems relieved and thanks you for understanding. "You're a really great friend Santana. I don't want that to change."
You shake your head. "It won't. You love who you love and it's all beautiful."
The food arrives and you have a nice lunch after that. It's light and fun and you feel like you're closer to Brittany than ever. She trusts you with her secrets and you love that. It proves to you that you're not that only one that thinks this friendship is strong.
After lunch you head back to the conference and Brittany goes back to the spa. The conference isn't as bad as it could be, but you're very aware of how much time is creeping by. You manage to sneak out at two forty-five. You're pretty sure Brittany is still in the spa so you decide to head up to the room for a little nap.
When you get into the room though, you find that you're not alone. You can hear Brittany in the shower. She's singing and since the door is slightly open, you can hear her clearly. She's actually a really good singer. You decide to continue your covert concert and listen while you change clothes. You take off your nice shirt and your pants before pulling out the jeans you're going to wear. You keep looking for the shirt you want.
When the singing stops abruptly, you look up and see Brittany standing outside the bathroom door in a towel. She looks at you, her mouth slightly open.
You find yourself similarly awestruck. The tops of her long, lean legs are barely hidden under the small towel and the towel is hanging low enough to get a hint of cleavage. You quickly look away and pull your shirt on. "Sorry, I didn't hear you get out of the towel - shower."
She laughs at you and you feel a little better about seeing her almost naked. "So, what do you want to do? Are you heading back to the spa?"
"If they exfoliate me anymore, I won't have any skin left," Brittany chuckles. "I was hoping that you could show me around."
"I've only been here a few times, but I'll do my best," you tell her as you pull on your jeans. You've looked up now from your bag and see that she managed to get a bra and panties on while you were getting your jeans on. Of course this view is all that much more alluring because her stomach is so toned. Her whole body is something amazing to behold and you have to rip your eyes away from her.
When you're both ready, you grab your coats and leave. You decide to walk. Your hotel is in the midst of many great things to do in Philly so you decide to just wander around until you found a restaurant that looks good.
It's cold and you link your arm with Brittany's. You don't know if you're trying to assure her that nothing's weird between you or you're trying to assure yourself, but her smile makes you happy so it doesn't even matter.
You walk past to many landmarks and Brittany stops a few times to read about them. Then she stops to call Summer after she got out of school. Summer insists on saying hi to you and you laugh as she tells you about school. Then you give the phone back to her mom who tells her that she loves her.
After Brittany hangs up, you go into some museums and look around. You duck into a Spanish restaurant and nab a little table in the back. Brittany's telling you about her fun times in high school and some of her hijinks as a cheerleader. Then you tell her about your time on your high school's volleyball team.
You tell her about your string of uninteresting boyfriends which she counters with one girlfriend of a month and a half and then a dry spell spanning over Summer's entire life.
"That is sad," you quirk your eyebrow. "You're so sweet and hot and smart. The women of Lima are totally missing out."
She laughs and shakes her head. "I don't need to date. I'm fine how my life is right now. I have a great family and great friends." She gestures to you.
"What about sex?" you ask before you register that you did it. You would have asked it to everyone else, but you feel that Brittany is... sweet and innocent. Even though she may not be.
She doesn't skip a beat answering with her wine glass in her hand. "I take good care of myself."
Your eyes widen a bit and if you had been drinking it would have come flying out of your mouth. She laughs at your reaction. You're a doctor. You shouldn't be having these reactions, but it's... Brittany.
After dinner, you walk along the darkened street for a while just enjoying the city and laughing together. When you get back to the room, Brittany starts to call Summer. You ask if her parents have a computer with a web cam and offer her use of your computer. You get in the shower after she gets on your laptop.
The hot water feels so good on your back so you stretch your arms over your head and take a deep breath. This shower feels amazing. You can't really think what would make this weekend better.
You think about what Brittany told you and what she went through in high school. It infuriates you that someone did that to her. That someone was mean to her because of her sexuality. You want to find them now and kick all their asses. Those fuckers. The more you think about it, the madder you get. You want to protect her from things like that, from people like that.
You're fuming when you get out of the shower and pull on your pajama shorts and tank top. You walk out of the bathroom and find that Brittany is done with your computer and it's pushed to the side. She's laying down, her head on a pillow and her body under the blankets. The lights are off and the lamps are on.
"What's wrong?" she asks, sitting up.
You don't ask her how she knows that something is wrong, you pull the towel off of your hair and toss it toward the bathroom. "I was thinking in the shower about those assholes that were mean to you in high school. And that old fuck that looked at us when we were sitting on your front porch. It was your house. You can do whatever you want in your house. Or on your front porch. I'm gonna track him down and -"
"Santana," she softly interrupts you. You take a deep breath and put your hands on your hips. She pushes up on her knees and shuffles over to you. Her hands rest lightly on your hips. "It's so sweet of you to be pissed for me. But you being pissed off right here, right now isn't going to help anything okay?"
You realize that she's right, but you cross your arms trying to maintain your anger. It's an easy emotion for you. "But they-" You sigh as her blue eyes bore into you, erasing the anger. You huff. "I just...I'm sorry that you had to go through that. It's not right."
"It's not right," Brittany shakes her head, "But it's getting better. There's a GSA and even a Glee club at the high school now."
You keep to yourself that you think Glee is for losers, but you have to ask, "What's a GSA?"
"Gay Straight Alliance," she smiles at you. "I'm guessing you didn't have one of those at your high school."
You shake your head. "I guess not."
"Things are changing," she cups your cheek.
You feel her words and know it's true. You just... "I don't like that they hurt you in any way."
"I got something great out of it," Brittany pulls you into a hug.
You hold her around her back and let your head drop on her shoulder. "Sorry."
"It's okay," she whispers to you. "Now let's go to bed."
You nod against her shoulder and pull away from her so that you can get into the bed. When the lamps go off you lay down in the bed and burrow under the covers. You feel the need to apologize again so you do.
She doesn't answer immediately. Her body moves toward yours and her arms snake around your torso, pulling you to her. Your arms find their natural place around her neck. "Don't be sorry. I love you so much for wanting to protect me. I definitely could have used a friend like you in high school. But I have you now okay? And when we get back to Lima, we'll help the kids there that need the support."
You don't let go of her. You still want to protect her. Maybe just protect her against the cold tonight. But the world is a cruel place and Brittany doesn't belong in it. She needs some utopia where everyone loves her and her daughter and no one has a cross word to say.
"Are you okay?" She asks a few minutes later after you've just been laying in the dark, holding each other.
You decide to finally pull away. You don't want to creep her out although you feel like you could hold her for the rest of your life. "I'm fine. I used to just think the world sucked because I generally don't like people, but I just... you're..." You roll onto your back. "It really does suck."
"It doesn't all suck," Brittany takes your hand and just holds it between you. "There are good people in this world. Like you."
You find that hard to believe. You've always been the bitch. Probably the bane of many people's existences. You were ruthless in college and med school. You always kept your distance from people, which many people interpret as you being a snobby bitch. You wouldn't put yourself in the category of bad people, but you certainly don't feel like one of the good guys.
"You're a good person Santana," Brittany burrows into her pillow. "I know it. Someday you'll know it. Get some sleep. You have a long day tomorrow."
You groan at the mention of the day you'll have. Brittany giggles and squeezes your hand. She doesn't let go and you don't mind. You actually kind of like it.