StraightShark: You amazing reader, you, I LMAOSHMSFOAIDMT when I read the Brittany Hymen thing. This chapter is for you, I love you XOXO

JuJuBox: Guatemala rules, I really thought you were from Colombia. I read your stories, I love A Big Happy Family. Maybe we could write something together in Spanish :D

Brittanaaaa: Thank you, I appreciate it. I'm a girl, though... a hot one. Tell your girlfriend congratulations, I also plan on majoring on Computer Science. And I am getting my shit together, it's just hard when my friends call and tell me to get shitfaced with them. Anyways, you rock.


"How was date night?"

Brittany squirms uncomfortably on her seat. She looks down at her lap, avoiding eye contact with the marriage counselor. The session just started, and as usual on Fridays, Jackson has 'too much work'.

"Brittany," Santana calls after Brittany in a sweet voice, so Brittany looks up and meets brown eyes. "Remember this is a safe place, you can tell me."

"You were right, doctor Lopez."

Santana frowns at this, not sure what Brittany means. "I was right about what?"

"Remember when you said to me that I want to leave Jackson, but I rely on him emotionally, so I can't leave him."

Santana nods slowly, wondering if Brittany is ready to leave Jackson. Santana's job is to save their marriage, but she's off that road. She doesn't know why, but something about Brittany captivates her. She's not gonna lie, she likes Brittany, and that is one of the reasons she wants her to end the abusive marriage.

"Do you want to divorce him?" Brittany already said what she wants, but Santana has to make sure she means it.

"Yes," Brittany takes a deep breath. "But I'm scared." She adds.

"What are you scared of?" Brittany doesn't respond. "Are you scared that Jackson might hit you?"

"I honestly don't know." Brittany admits.

Santana understands this, she has seen it several times. "Why don't we try an exercise?" Brittany nods, so Santana proceeds. "I want you to picture that moment. Picture when you tell Jackson you want to divorce him. Close your eyes."

Brittany closes her eyes.

"I want you to tell me every detail."

Brittany nods, eyes still closed, and begins to picture it.

This isn't exactly hypnotism, Santana doesn't like to use that method. This is simply stimulating the mind and preparing the body, physically, to a scenario that the person can't face, yet.

The scene is important, it can tell a lot to Santana. "Where are you?" If it's in the bedroom, Santana could conclude that Brittany wishes to end the marriage after sex, or that she is more comfortable with ending it in an intimate place. It it's in the table, Brittany may want to do it while in a moment of peace. If it's in the living room, Brittany may feel an urge to fight and let out her feelings and thoughts to Jackson.

"In his office." The answer surprises Santana. She stops for a second to analyze it. If it's in the office, it probably means Brittany is desperate to end the marriage, since she shows up at his work place instead of waiting for him.

"What are you wearing?" It may sound like a stupid question, but it isn't. If Brittany is wearing PJ's, she decided to sleep and rest before facing the situation. If she is in casual wear, Brittany decided to do some chores first to occupy her mind with something other than ending the marriage.

"What I'm wearing right now." The answer again surprises Santana. It means Brittany is very desperate to end it. Santana can actually picture Brittany leaving the office and drive to Jackson's workplace.

"What is the first thing you tell him?"

"I want a divorce."

Not a greeting, not a sympathy question, but a forward statement. Brittany is indeed miserable with Jackson. Santana knows this isn't how it's going to happen, this is simply what Brittany wants. Brittany is too weak and too insecure of herself to actually show up at his work place, where he is stressed, and tell him out of nowhere that she wants a divorce, when they've been seeing a therapist for a few months. It would infuriate him to the point of hurting Brittany.

"What does he look like? After you tell him."

"He looks really angry."

"What does he say?"

"Nothing."

Santana stays quiet for a while, thinking about Brittany's answer. "What does he do?" She rephrases.

With a single tear sliding down her cheek, Brittany answers. "He hits me."

The fact that, in Brittany's mind, Jackson skipped the words to get to the physical abuse, tells Santana a lot. Brittany is so used to being treated like that, that's the only thing she expects from Jackson. When he wakes up in the mornings, Brittany doesn't expect a 'good morning', she expects him to brush the comment off and leave. When she overcooks dinner, she doesn't expect Jackson to say 'it's alright', she expects him to punch her in the face. When Brittany forgets to pick up his suits, she expects him to push her and hit her until she bruises. When he comes home at night, drunk and angry, Brittany doesn't expect him to go to bed, she expects him to be forceful and have his way with her.

Santana's last assumption makes her wonder if Jackson has ever forced Brittany to do anything. "You can open your eyes."

Brittany does, and looks at Santana expectantly.

"I need to ask you something, but before I do I want to remind you that this is a safe place."

Brittany nods her head.

"No one will ever know what you tell me, not even Jackson. If you do want to divorce him I will help you, but I need you to trust me.

"Okay."

Santana believes Brittany. "Has Jackson ever forced you to do something?"

"What do you mean?" Brittany plays with her nails, trying her best to avoid that subject.

"Has he ever forced himself on you?" Santana gets her answer when Brittany blinks a few tears and doesn't respond. "It's okay, you can tell me. Remember no one else will hear about this."

Brittany wipes her tears with a Kleenex from the coffee table. "It was on Tuesday," It leads Santana to assume it happened on date night. "We went to dinner and everything was going fine, we didn't fight, we mostly sat there and ate in silence."

Santana takes notes, scribbling with a tight hold on her pen.

"When we got home, we knew we were supposed to have sex. I didn't want to, though."

Santana expects the worse from this. "Brittany," She says a little frustrated. "Did you tell him you didn't want to have sex?"

Brittany looks all over the room except at Santana, and there is Santana's answer. Santana is mad, she wants to ask Brittany why didn't she do so, but she knows better.

"It wouldn't have mattered," Brittany whispers. "I didn't say so at first, but I did later."

"Did he stop?" Santana asks, genuinely worried for Brittany.

Brittany breaks down in tears. "No..." She sobs.

Santana wants to yell, she wants to call the police and report Jackson, because that is her obligation. She doesn't, she stays in her chair, breathing heavily.

"I kept telling him no, but he kept going."

Santana honestly doesn't know what to say. How can such a beautiful woman like Brittany have no self esteem what so ever?

"I prayed," Brittany continues sobbing. "I asked god for strength. I asked him to help me leave Jackson, and stop being afraid of him. I want to change."

"Change starts within yourself, Brittany. You have to want it."

"I do want it." Brittany responds immediately. "I want it more than anything. I know it's not normal to be on a marriage where my husband hits me and ra-" She stops, realizing the word that was going to come out of her mouth.

"I'm going to help you Brittany, I'll help you leave him."

Brittany nods her head.

"Stay strong, keep praying, don't stop asking god the strength you need."

"Okay."

"I want you to tell Jackson you don't want to come to therapy anymore."

"But- what if he asks questions, he might-"

"He won't. He dislikes coming here, he dislikes spending his money, and he gets out of this whenever he can. If anything, he will be happy."

"Okay."

"You are going to keep coming, though. We'll reschedule sessions to the mornings, that way he won't notice you still come."

Brittany smiles, a sad, grateful smile. "Thank you Doctor Lopez."

Santana could lose her licence for this. She's doing everything she isn't supposed to do. Unlike any other person, Santana will admit to herself that she knows what she is doing and she knows why she is doing it. It's math. She has known Brittany for sixty-five days. It took three-thousand six-hundred seconds for the first physical interaction between the two, a kiss. As a psychologist, it took Santana ten-thousand eight-hundred seconds to analyze Brittany and understand her needs, her thoughts, her fears, everything. The average human being can develop a "crush" in a nanosecond, develop infatuation in sixty seconds, and develop romantic feelings in merely eighty-six-thousand four-hundred seconds.

After an hour of knowing each other, Brittany and Santana engaged in physical interaction, a kiss. After three sessions, Santana managed to fully analyze Brittany. She developed a crush in a nanosecond, developed infatuation in just a minute, and started having romantic feelings towards her in a day. After sixty five days, eighteen sessions, eighteen hours listening, understanding, and supporting Brittany, Santana is in love.