4.

Wrapped only in a borderline sinfully short towel and singing contentedly to herself, Santana walked out of the bathroom and across the HummelPezBerry loft living space heading for her room. In her arms were an excessive amount of toiletries which she refused to leave lying around in the communal space because Kurt had no shame and would use them all and then test them all further on Rachel. She had learned the hard way never to trust anyone that opinionated on hair products or with hair that bouffant. Besides, she knew for a fact that they would take full advantage of her expensive products because she would do the same thing to them. They had learned from the best after all.

Upon reaching the centre of the room Santana promptly dropped every bottle in her arms and jumped six inches in the air, her hands grasping onto her towel as though for dear life.

"Oh my god," Santana emitted a high pitched squeak. "You cant be here." She stared slack jawed at the intruder in her apartment.

The person in front of her pouted.

"Oh my god. I mean, of course I'm like, really happy to see you... but you cant be here. What if Kurt and Rachel come back and see you?"

"Kurt and Rachel. Since when do you call them that?"

"Since they started referring to themselves as Hummelberry. It makes me throw up a little bit inside my mouth every time they do that."

"Don't worry about them, we've got plenty of time. I'll know if they come back. Aren't you going to come over here and say hello?"

Santana took a side step so the sofa was in between her and her visitor, much to her visitor's amusement.

"Hi Britt," Santana ducked her head and gave her a bashful smile.

"Hello Santana," Future Brittany smirked as she walked closer, knelt down on the sofa cushions and rested her arms on the backrest and leaned in until she was almost face to face with the almost naked younger girl. She watched as Santana stared at her in a daze.

"Hi," Brittany said softly her breath ghosting over Santana's face.

"Hi." Santana breathed, frozen in place.

"Are you naked under there?" Brittany asked with a sly grin and a raised eyebrow.

"What? No!" Santana looked down at her tiny towel. "Maybe a bit. Let me get changed." She gripped her towel tighter and scurried away from the beautiful woman on her couch.

"Do you want some help getting changed?" Brittany called after her.

"No! You stay over there and don't move from that couch. No peeking."

Brittany chortled and lay down stretched over the cushions. "Party pooper."

Santana stumbled out of her room in record time in a large t shirt and sweatpants. She dried her hair with a towel as she sat down on the end of the couch next to the older woman.

"How did you get in?"

"A ninja never tells."

Santana giggled. Then mentally slapped herself for being such a fucking goober in front of the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Why are you getting dressed at this time of day?"

"I just woke up. I had to work last night."

"Oh yeah? You sure you haven't got a girl back there?" Brittany leaned back trying to see into Santana's room.

"What? No!" Santana slapped her on the shoulder.

"You're such a liar."

"I'm not!" Santana started to get anxious. "You can go check."

"Relax, I believe you. My Santana was always like 'oh yeah different girl every week', and something about planting oats but she couldn't get away with lying to me to save her life." Santana didn't know whether to look relieved or embarrassed. "It'd be okay if you did, you know," Brittany said quietly taking Santana's hand in hers. "Have a girl back there."

Santana glowered at her bare feet. "Don't you start, too." Brittany interlaced their fingers and tugged her hand onto her lap but Santana still wouldn't look at her.

"How is it living with the gruesome twosome?" Brittany changed the subject as she took a look at the pile of dvds on the coffee table next to them and scrunched her nose up in disgust.

Santana looked up immediately, relieved.

"Oh, you know. I haven't murdered anyone yet but there's still time and no doubt provocation to come. I woke up late one day and there were like fifteen people in sequinned leotards prancing about in here. I thought I was hallucinating until I was almost blinded by the light reflecting off them. And there was another time I got in and Kurt and Rachel and the Apple guy were dressed as cutlery and re-enacting Beauty and the Beast. I still have nightmares about dancing cutlery," She grimaced and gripped hold of Brittany even tighter. "But there's still time to keep up the city's murder statistics, cut off date is May. Wait a minute, shouldn't you already know all this?"

Brittany shrugged. "You never said much about it apart from it was six months of your life you'd never get back."

Santana stared at her. Brittany returned her gaze with a warm smile until she realised what she had just said and struggled for an explanation. "I mean that... What I meant to say was... you... uh... always said you learned more self restraint living here than four years of sharing a classroom with Finn Hudson. Is what I meant."

"You said six months."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did. I've been here since February that means I've got three months to go. What happens after six months?"

"Oh boy, is that the time? I've got to run. I only came here on the off chance of seeing you naked." Brittany made to stand but Santana tightened the grip on her hand and tugged her back.

"No, don't go, please? I haven't seen you in ages, it feels like forever."

Brittany stopped struggling and reached up to tuck Santana's loose hair off her face and back behind her ears then ran her fingers down her cheek.

"Hey, it's going to be okay."

"Can you just... give me a clue? Or even better, tell me what to do," Santana pleaded. "I miss you so much." Her breath hitched and she blinked furiously trying not to cry. Brittany felt a harsh squeeze on her heart and wrapped Santana in her arms.

"I just accidentally gave you a whopping great big fat clue," Brittany murmured into her hair. Something beeped in her jacket pocket and she pulled out a small electronic device and read the message it was displaying. "And another clue will be here any moment," she said softly.

"Wait," Santana sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Last I heard you were all like dying or something. At least that's what 'crazy' me said."

Brittany grinned. "Oh no, psssh, don't listen to her. That's just what happens when paranoid overprotective people have unsupervised access to the internet and diagnoses everyone they love."

She placed her hands on Santana's shoulders and tilted her chin so they were looking right at each other.

"It's never too early to start so I'll do this now. Listen to me very carefully, Santana."

Santana blinked back at her eyes hazing over with adoration. Brittany frowned and clicked her fingers in front of the girl's nose snapping her back to attention.

"Just because your dad is a doctor, honey, does not mean his years of medical training get passed on genetically. You wont believe how many times I have had to tell you this in the future but you never seem to listen. Do not believe the internet."

Santana huffed, mildly offended at being told off for her older self's actions.

"Actually, we all had flu. Except Santana, only she's got it now so... poor Sugar is looking after her." Brittany chewed her lip worriedly. "I should probably get back soon. Those two cannot be trusted."

A thudding noise outside the apartment caught the attention of both women and they turned to face the door. The noise got louder until the door to the apartment burst open and Future Brittany and Santana's six year old son came running inside shouting,

"We've got to go, they're coming back! I saw them come out of the subway station. Move out, people, now!"

"Tony!" Santana couldn't believe her eyes at seeing the boy again.

"Mami!" He barrelled into Santana and she hugged him back fiercely.

"You left him outside on the sidewalk alone in New York?" Santana mouthed over his head to Brittany, her eyes wide in horror.

Brittany smirked. "Tony." He looked back at his mom. "Your one-day-to-be Mami is doubting your mad ninja skills. Show her what you've got."

Santana gulped. "Wait!" she yelped as the boy swept her legs out from under her without hesitating and sat on her legs pinning her to the floor.

"That's how we do in Lima Heights," he grinned at her. And slapped a fist to his heart. "I'm a Lopez. No one messes with me or my family and gets away with it," Tony leaned over her and pointed dramatically for emphasis.

Santana lay flat on her back in shock as she stared at this little kid who had just dropped her like a sack of potatoes.

"You made Sugar mad. At you. You made her cry," Tony frowned down at her.

Santana sighed. "Yeah, I know," she muttered.

Brittany prodded Tony in the back with her foot well out of Santana's view and on cue, as he stared at her with big blue eyes, his bottom lip quivered and his eyes squeezed shut. Tears trickled down his cheeks.

"Holy Sweet baby m'n'm's," Santana gulped. "You're what's worse," she said in a hushed voice. She sat up and pulled him into a big hug. "Tony, no don't cry baby, I swear it'll all be okay, I promise." He tucked his head under her chin and wrapped his short arms tightly around her neck.

"Sugar cried," he sniffled into her neck. "She wouldn't come out of her room for days."

"I promise it will all be fixed," Santana began to rock his body as she frantically tried to comfort him.

Brittany walked past the two bodies on the floor and sat back down on the couch. Out of Santana's line of sight she gave Tony a thumbs up over Santana's shoulder. He then proceeded to wail even louder.

"Wait." Santana manoeuvred with Tony in her arms to look at Brittany who's expression turned to innocence as she did so. "Where's Sugar? Did she go back home? Is she coming back to now?"

"Sugar..." Brittany winced. "Is a teeny tiny bit mad at you and younger me right now. She hasn't spoken to future us for about two weeks and, frankly Santana, I don't appreciate getting blamed for something you two have done even if you are us and it was years ago and it's about time you fixed your shit."

"Cover your ears," Santana whispered in Tony's ear. To her delight he giggled. "Listen buddy, here's what I'm going to do. And make sure you tell Sugar that it'll all be okay when you get home because I'm going to McKinley and I'm going to get her back." Santana didn't notice Brittany's nose twitch at her words. "I'm going to tell her how I feel... again." She paused. "And again as many times as I have to and ask her to consider coming here with me. Or I would go with her. I don't know, but I'm going to fix it."

"Seriously? You're going to go there and like sweep her off her feet? Like in a movie?" Tony asked excitedly.

"More like blow her away."

"And then what? Brittany sighed. You'll be exactly where you were before. What about Sa-"

"Britt, don't make me swear in front of a four year old."

"I'm six! And we have to go now, Mom. Uncle Kurt and Aunt Rachel stopped to sing with the buskers outside the metro but there were rainclouds and-" A clap of thunder crashed the conversation. "They're on their way," he finished off, ominously.

"You're like, really smart," Santana grinned at him as rain began to hammer against the windows. "You are most definitely your mother's son." She flattened his wild hair as she spoke not noticing Brittany's ears flushed pink at her words.

"We have to go," Brittany stood and held out her hand for Tony to take. He hugged Santana some more and she kissed his forehead.

"Don't let Sugar near your wrists. She does this grabby thing and it really hurts," the boy warned.

"Got it."

Brittany kissed her on the lips. "Mmmmph!"

"Brittany."

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I know. It's the only thing I've ever always known. I love you too." She winked. "Okay, well cool. We actually came so Tony could do his history project on Obama. Gotta go."

"Hold up." Santana frowned noticing the matching smug smiles on Brittany and Tony's faces. "Did you two just play me?"

"Of course not, sweetie."

"Like Jenga," Tony called from the hallway.

"I always knew you were slightly evil," Santana muttered then ran to the door and called after Brittany. "But wait, it works, right? If I go to Lima and... you know?"

"Watch out for Sugar," was Brittany's reply. "She's really mad. And it ain't pretty when she's mad."

Santana waved to Tony who kept waving until he and his mother were out of sight.

She was still standing there staring off into space in the empty hallway with a sappy smile on her face when Rachel and Kurt came screeching up the stairs. They side eyed her in tandem and then side stepped her as a precaution.

"Still so freakin' hot," Santana whispered, non too quietly.

"Thank you, Santana," Rachel said with a smile as she inched past her into the apartment, slightly bemused when Santana remained staring down the hall.