This is a shift day [see above]. There was another upload this morning: Back in the Saddle.


"Steps 16-36, Time Is On Your Side"

7. Step Twenty-Two, Release Fear

It had been one week now since Brittany had taken her fall. She was already more than dedicated to the notion that she had to take things easy for a while, and in case she ever attempted to do otherwise, she had plenty of people there to remind her. She was glad to have them there, if she was to be honest. They lightened things up, which she needed. As the days passed they had found that the incident had made certain things resurface.

She had gotten over her initial fears from the beginning of the pregnancy after a while. She didn't walk at a snail's pace for fear of hitting something or being hit by something or someone that would risk hurting the baby, or she didn't keep herself from doing things – within reason. She was still properly careful, but none more than that. She had found the right level.

Only now after the fall, everything had changed, steps taken back. At first it had been easy to mistake it for her taking things easy, but as the days had passed and even her wrist was getting better, she was still erring on the side of caution to the point of fear. The first time around the baby had been so small there was nothing to see, which had been cause for concern that anything could damage him. But now here she was, very nearly six months along, and all she had to do was look down… In the last week, asking her to go up or down the stairs was a wager to see whether or not she'd do it, and should they ever convince her, then they had to be ready for her to take as long as she felt she needed. They could see in her eyes how much she was afraid to fall again.

Kurt had gone to Santana and together they agreed to go and see her, hoping they could help her get back to a place where she felt safe. It wasn't doing her any good to stay cooped up in her room day in and day out. When they got to her house, that was exactly where they found her, laid out in bed watching television. They knocked at the door and she looked back.

"Hi," she blinked, reaching for the remote to turn the television and sitting up to look at them. They came to sit with her on the bed.

"How are you doing?" Santana asked.

"I'm fine," she promised, reaching to push her hair behind her ears.

"Brittany, we're… well, we're worried about you," Kurt spoke up.

"You are? Why?"

"Well, when's the last time you left the house?" Santana asked, and that was all she needed to say for Brittany to understand what she was getting at. Her face flinched.

"I can't help it," she insisted. "I feel like I'm going to fall all the time," she whimpered.

"Like you're dizzy?" Santana asked.

"No, not even," Brittany shook her head.

"You were doing fine before. What happened last week, it was just an accident, they happen. It doesn't mean they happen all the time. You couldn't have seen it coming," Kurt pointed out, and Santana realized he'd used the wrong words before he did.

"Exactly. I didn't see it coming. Maybe I won't see the next one coming either, but that time…" she looked down to herself, pressed both hands to her belly.

"You can't let fear control you like this. You're one of the most courageous people I know," Santana promised her, winning a small smile for it. "And if that baby takes after both of you," she shared this statement with both her and Kurt, "Then he's going to be pretty damn strong."

"I'm with Santana on that one," Kurt bowed his head in thanks to her. "Strong family unit," now it was him sharing this look with her, and she took it, knowing he would still include her, regardless of her own difficulties with getting started… "Strong kid," he smiled to Brittany, and if she wasn't smiling so much in that moment, her tears would have worried them, but now they knew maybe they were getting somewhere.

"I think I know something else that might help you feel better," Santana smiled, getting an idea.

It would be three days before she could bring her thought to fruition. That afternoon, Brittany had made her way down the stairs, still slow to go though it was more due to her condition than it was to any concerns she might have been feeling. She was going to see if Melinda wanted to watch a movie, and then she'd heard voices, from the back. She frowned, confused. Her parents were out, so who…

She followed the sound and it led her to the backyard. She opened the door and as she stepped out, they saw her, and she saw them… they were all here, the McKinley High New Directions… She both startled and laughed at once and they all greeted her in a heap of voices before she moved up and it was one hug after another. Rachel was in awe of how Brittany's belly had grown since last she'd seen her, Tina felt for a kick, as did most of them afterward, Quinn asked how she was doing…

If the talk with Kurt and Santana had started her on the way to feeling better, the visit from the Glee Club that day had definitely continued her on that way. It would take a while more for her to be comfortable with herself again without fearing she'd hurt the baby at anything, but eventually they could see a significant shift in her, and the dark cloud of her fall had gone and cleared up.

She took their words with great care, and she believed them. Their child would be strong, like them. They would teach him right, teach him to love. The closer they got to her due date, the more she just wanted to meet him. He probably would know that his conception had not been under the most convenient of circumstances, but they would tell him that this didn't change the fact that they loved him, cared for him so much, even now, before he was born, and they did everything in their power to keep him safe.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)