A/N: Thanks so much to those who have reviewed so far. Happy reading!

Just as the sun sets, Brittany and Santana cross the state line into Indiana. Throughout the last two states, their time was spent playing games like Never Have I Ever, listening to music, and even enjoying a comfortable silence over long stretches of road. Brittany even learned that Santana indeed does have the most amazing singing voice. After much begging and a promise to owe her one, Santana finally caved and sang along to the radio. "I don't just do that for everybody, you know. Consider yourself special, Pierce." Over the past four hours of driving, Brittany couldn't get the girl off her mind. Anytime she tried to shift focus to her surroundings or think about her new job she simply couldn't. The slightest movement of a leg or the soft sigh from Santana got her heart racing. She needed to get to a hotel fast to get these feelings off her chest. Hopefully talking to Rachel could give her some perspective. She knows that Rachel will be supportive, but Brittany is not sure if she can handle Rachel in full-on shock mode. This is all unexpected, and she has the feeling Rachel will bombard her with questions. When did you first have the feeling? Did you know while you were with Chad? Have you ever kissed a girl? Do you want me to set you up with somebody? I have already met a few nice lesbians here.

Being just an hour outside of Indianapolis, Brittany decides that would be a good place to stop for the night. Santana has been quiet for the past few minutes. She stares straight ahead at the road as her hands fiddle with each other. She rubs each knuckle on one hand and then the other.

"Are you okay? You look nervous. Or do your hands hurt?"

"My hands just get sore a lot. Probably from guitar, or maybe I'm morphing into an old lady with arthritis."

Brittany thinks about it for a moment. "No, I don't think that's it. The rest of you looks young."

"So you're saying I still got it?" Santana motions down her body.

"I guess so," Brittany responds with a nervous laugh. "Well, just about another hour, and we will be able to get the heck outta this car."

"Do you want me to start driving tomorrow? You drove almost twelve hours today."

"I think that would be great, Santana. My back is starting to kill me, and my brain is getting all fuzzy."

"Okay, then. That's settled."

One hour later the two find a Hampton Inn right off the exit and pull in. "I love these places. They always have free cookies at the desk." Britt's excitement at the prospect of a free cookie makes Santana smile.

"Alright, Cookie Monster. Let's get going." Santana hops out the door, grabbing her rucksack. The temperature has dropped a bit since the sun has gone down. "Geez, I thought it was summer."

They walk into the lobby and Brittany heads over to the front desk. Santana grabs a cookie and sits on one of the couches, watching the television in the corner.

"Good evening, welcome to Hampton Inn. My name is Roger. Do you have a reservation, miss?"

"No reservation."

"Okay, we have plenty rooms available. Are you looking for one room?"

"Santana? Separate rooms right?" That was always the plan. She specifically put that in the Craig's List posting. She didn't know what kind of crazy person she could have ended up with. She supposes that she wouldn't mind sharing a room with Santana. Actually the thought kind of excites her, but she wants to give Santana her space if she wants it.

Santana swivels her head back around to Brittany. "That's fine, Britt."

"One room then, Roger. Single bed."

"Okay, we have one of those for you today. Non-smoking, free Wi-Fi, television, and a continental breakfast in the morning. The rate is $127.00 per night. I'll just need a credit card on file." Brittany dips in to her purse and hands over a card. "Thank you, Miss Pierce. Just one moment."

Santana gets up from the couch and heads over to Brittany. "Hey, Britt. I need to get my guitar from your car. Can I grab the key?"

"Sure. Oh, wait. I forgot to lock it, so it's open. Just lock up when you leave."

"Here is your room key, Miss. Room 117, just down this hall on the right. Breakfast starts at 6:30, and checkout is 11am."

"Thanks." Brittany turns to Santana, who starts to head out the door. "Text me your room number when you're done, okay? I'm going to go take a shower and stretch my legs out."

"Sure, Britt."

The two girls part ways. Britt grabs her bag and heads down the hallway. "113…115….117! Oh, hotel room. I love you so much right now." She throws her bag onto the chair at the desk by the window and plops down, stomach first, onto the bed. "Aahhhhh…..ah! What am I doing? Hotel comforter! Gross, gross, gross, gross." She jumps off the bed and rips the comforter from the bed. "So now is a good a time as any to shower."

After a relaxing twenty minute shower, Brittany wraps a fluffy white towel around herself and another on her head. She sits down at the desk and grabs her phone. There is no text from Santana. "Must have forgotten." Brittany sends a quick text asking what room she is in, and quickly shifts gears to call Rachel. She takes the towel from her head and rubs it against her hair. Having dried off enough water she throws it to the ground and steels herself for the confession she is about to make; not just to Rachel, but to herself. She brings the phone to her ear.

"Brittany!"

"Hey, Rach."

"How is the roadtrip going? Are all of my belongings safe and in one piece still?"

"Everything's fine, Rachel. Your collection of plaid skirts and animal sweaters will make it to California. I promise."

"Los Angeles is amazing, Britt. I cannot wait until you get here. The weather is fantastic, the men are insanely gorgeous, and everywhere you go you can find vegan food. I'm in heaven."

"Sounds great, I can't wait either. Listen, Rach, there was actually a reason why I wanted to call you."

"Oh, okay. What is it?"

She grabs the pen on the desk and starts doodling out of nervousness. Circles, squares, spirals. Over and over again.

"I…um….Okay, Rachel. You're my best friend, and I needed to talk to you about something because I know you won't judge me. And please don't freak out or anything. I mean, I know you won't freak out, but you might be surprised and-"

"Brittany, calm down. What is it? What's going on?"

"Well, you know how I broke up with a Chad a year ago, and you and Quinn are always asking why I haven't gotten out and dated since then."

"Yea..."

"There's a reason for that…..I think I like girls."

A long pause follows and fills the room in silence. Brittany can swear she feels her heart beating in through every part of her body. Hearing herself say the words out loud makes everything real. She thought it would be more terrifying, but she feels more like she just jumped off the high dive. It was scarier looking down than it was to fall.

"I knew it! I knew it, I told Quinn."

"What?! You guys knew? How?"

"Oh, honey. Maybe you thought you were being sly, but every time we went out to a bar or club you rejected every guy that approached you and spent most of the time ogling the hot lady bartenders."

"I had no idea. I just never told you both because this kind of scar."

"You know we love you and want you to be happy and be yourself. Don't worry about labeling yourself right now."

"Thanks, Rach." Brittany walks over to the head of the bed and sits against the headboard. "There's another thing."

"You have a crush on your car-buddy?"

"What the hell, Rach? Did you take a psychic class in the past few days or something?"

"Again, Britt. You're so obvious. The day I left you couldn't stop smiling about her. So, what team does this girl play for?"

"She's gay."

"Oh my god, that's perfect! But, Brittany, don't be too forward with her. You still have like seven more states to drive through. And they're the big ones in the middle."

"Should I like tell her that maybe I'm …you know, too? Or do I flirt with her? I don't know how to handle it."

"Just be your awesome self. There is no way she isn't already charmed by you. Maybe you can ask her to watch a movie some night in your hotel room."

Brittany imagines what it would be like to sit close to each other without having a center console between them.

"Thanks for being cool about this. It's good to have finally told somebody."

"This is going to be so fun. When you get here, we are so going out to West Hollywood."

"Sure thing. Listen, I've got to go. I'm starving and tired."

"Call me with any new developments!"

"Bye, Rach." She hangs up the phone and breathes a huge sigh of relief. She sees that Santana had sent her a text while she was on the phone.

'I'm upstairs. Not feeling great, I'll see you tomorrow morning at breakfast.'

Brittany decides to call her back instead of texting.

"Yea, Britt?"

"Hey, I'm sorry you're not feeling good. I have some Tylenol I could bring to you. Or I could get you some crackers or something."

"No, that's okay. Really, I'll be fine. Just get some sleep."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

Brittany wonders why she doesn't want any help, but wants to leave her alone if that's what Santana wants. The last thing she wants is to annoy her. A grumble from her stomach distracts Brittany, so she decides to walk across the street to the pizza place they saw to ease her hunger. She'll get some extra in case Santana feels better later. Brittany throws on her shorts and a sweatshirt, grabs her purse and room key, and heads out the door.

She walks past the front desk, grabbing two cookies on the way. Outside the hotel, she decides to check that the U-Haul trailer and the car are both locked. It's not that she doesn't trust Santana to have done so, but she fears the wrath of Rachel Berry if anything got stolen. They were parked just at the end of the lot. As Brittany walks closer, something looks off. She can't make it out, but as she walks closer it becomes clear. Someone is sitting in the car. It's Santana. She is in the passenger seat. She has her head leaned back and her eyes closed. She never got a hotel room. She didn't need to get her guitar from the car; she was going to sleep in the car tonight.

Brittany doesn't want to startle the girl by knocking on the window or unlocking the car from her starter key. She walks up carefully to the car and watches her. Her black hair swoops down to cover her right eye. Her arms are crossed over her abdomen. She looks cold. As Brittany goes to softly tap on the glass, Santana's eyes open.

"Britt!" She quickly sits up and looks around. She opens the door and gets out. "I was just…something dropped out of my bag. So I had to come back…."

"Santana, why didn't you just tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"We could have gotten one room; I just thought you might have wanted privacy. And if you can't afford it, it's no problem. But you can't sleep sitting up in a car, remember?"

Santana keeps looking at her feet. She shrugs, "I don't know. I guess I didn't want you to know that I couldn't pay for it. You're like a hot shot with an awesome new job, and I barely have enough to get a cup of coffee."

"I wouldn't judge you for that. That's not the kind of person I am."

"I'm sorry, I should've known. You're one of the sweetest people ever."

Brittany blushes and wants so badly to hug the girl standing in front of her. "C'mon, let's go. Grab your bag." They start walking back into the hotel, side by side.

"I'm really sorry again, Brittany. You shouldn't have to share your room with me. I can't even pay for my half of it."

"Nonsense. Look, from here on out we will split one hotel room. And you are not allowed to pay for any of it."

"No, Britt. I couldn't let you do that. Part of the whole reason you wanted to find someone to ride with you to LA was to split expenses."

"Maybe, but it wasn't the whole reason." Brittany opens the door for Santana. "I wanted someone to keep me company, and so far your company has been great."

Santana flashes a smile. "You too, Britt."

Brittany unlocks the door. "Welcome to my abode, Miss Lopez. What do you say we order some room service and see what crappy movies are playing on tv right now?"

"That sounds really great. Could I take a shower first?"

"Of course!" Brittany takes a look at the menu and orders some chicken fingers and fries for the two of them. She sits on the bed, waiting for Santana and the room service, while flipping through the channels. She can hear the shower running. On the other side of the wall, Santana is wet and naked. Brittany wonders what it would be like to be in there with her; to run her hands over her soapy body, wash her hair, and push up her up against the wall. "Whoa, Britt. Stop. You have to share a bed with her. Stop thinking these things or you might have a sex dream and accidentally grope Santana in her sleep."

*Knock-knock-knock* "Room Service!" Brittany jumps off the bed, takes out a couple ones from her purse, and opens the door.

"Hi! Thank you so much, I'm starving." The man rolls the cart into the room and places the food on the desk. "Here you go." She hands him the tip and he makes his way out of the room. She hears the shower stop. "Santana! Is it okay if I start without you?"

"Of course! Go ahead!" The bathroom door swings wide open. Santana is in just a towel, her wet hair dripping down her back. "Smells good." She walks over to where Britt sits at the desk. She leans over her to grab a fry. Brittany can smell the coconut shampoo, and she is trying very hard not to look at the cleavage directly in front of her eyes.

"Yea….tastes good too."

"So." Santana bites into more fries and turns to the television. "Anything good on?"

Brittany clears her throat. "No, not really."

"Figures. Oh well, I'm tired anyways."

"Me too."

Santana eyes the bed. "So, um, which side is yours?"

"You can take the left." Brittany finishes her food and hands the plate over to Santana. She goes into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. When she comes back out, Santana is under the covers, facing the window. Brittany shuts the lights and the television off. She carefully climbs into bed in case Santana is already asleep. She lies on her back and sneaks a look over to the girl beside her. Her breathing looks even so Brittany assumes she is in fact asleep. "Good night, San," she whispers.

Santana rolls over and startles Brittany. Her dark brown eyes stare back at her, and she looks a bit discomforted.

"What's wrong?"

Santana shifts a bit closer. "Thank you for letting me stay with you."

"Of course."

Her eyes start to get droopy, and Santana lets out a sigh, "You're the sweetest, Brittany." Santana shuts her eyes. Her right hand rests between them, and Brittany is daring herself to touch it.

"So are you."

Brittany pulls her hand from under the covers and turns onto her left side. She slowly brings her hand to cover Santana's. She waits and hopes that the girl doesn't rip it away. And she doesn't. Santana opens her eyes to stare back at her. "What are you doing?"

"You said your hands hurt." Brittany starts to massage her hand. She slides her fingers up and down each of Santana's. She rubs her palm and in between her knuckles.

"That feels nice." Santana lets herself bask in Brittany's touch before she shifts closer to her. She brings her left arm across Brittany's body; just about causing her heart to beat out of her chest. Santana's hand falls onto her lower back.

"What are you doing?"

"You said your back hurt." Santana rubs her hand over the sheet covering Brittany's back. She rubs on each side of her spine in small circles, then up to her shoulders. The two continue their small ministrations with eyes closed, falling closer to sleep.

Brittany doesn't want to think whether things are moving too fast, or if she should tell Santana what she is feeling.

But this feels right.