In the morning, after Brittany had gotten up, Santana was, as usual sitting at the table, reading the morning paper and sipping her coffee. But whatever had happened last night made Brittany feel a lot more comfortable. Santana had opened up to her and she couldn't help but approach her with a smile. When Santana noticed her presence, she smiled back.

"G'morning." Brittany mumbled shyly, as if she were concealing a small secret.

"Good morning." Santana replied. Brittany let out a small smile and exhaled. She got out cereal and Santana watched her with careful eyes. It was a routine movement, Brittany, the cereal, the milk, the spoon. She prepared it the same way, the cereal first, the milk, then the spoon. She brought it over to the table and dug in. Santana kept glancing at her over her paper, looking down every time Brittany looked up. But the blond noticed it eventually as Santana wasn't being particularly subtle. She began making faces. Santana snorted into her coffee, which in turn caused Brittany to crack up. Santana, after hacking for a while, turned it into laughing as well.

"So what are you up to today?" Santana asked.

"Nothing really. Dave is gone for the next two weeks so most of the classes were canceled. I only have one later this afternoon." Brittany replied.

"Well, do you mind if I drop by later and watch? I get out of work at 5. I can give you a ride back too."

"That'd be great!" Brittany replied. She flashed the Latina a bright smile and Santana found that she didn't want to go to work anymore.


"You've been incredibly unproductive. Things at home going well I take it?" Quinn said, entering her office. Santana twirled in her chair and smiled. Her cheerfulness was infectious and Quinn couldn't help but grin as well.

"Hey, I just won a big contract. And I've done more work this past week than you can handle for the next three." Santana defended. Quinn put her hand on her hips and Santana laughed. "I don't know, Q! Something's different!"

"Wow, that's...new." Quinn said tentatively. "What happened in the day that I left you two together. Are you back together?" Santana looked down at her desk.

"No. But...yesterday, in the snow, I felt something, Q."

"Cold?" Quinn said but she couldn't stop but let a laugh escape through her teeth.

"It was wonderful." Santana sighed, leaning back. "We got two hot cocoas from Bennie's. We played in the snow."

"You sound like a bunch of high schoolers." Quinn remarked. "A bunch of love sick high schoolers." The two of them looked at each other and burst into laughter. Outside, Quinn's secretary and an employee looked on, wondering what exactly could be so funny in the office. When they settled down, Santana folded her arms on the desk.

"Not love sick." She admitted. "But getting there. It's like I'm falling in love with her all over again, Quinn."

"Falling in love is a great feeling. Just don't let it go to your head. You still don't know how she feels. And you can bet your ass that David's not going to let her go without a fight. You know you can just fend him off by telling him to back away, right? She's legally your wife."

"I still want to know if she'll fall back in love with me." Santana said, the smile disappearing from her face. "I mean, it's such a good feeling, letting her fall freely. And David's gone for two weeks. I have time to bring this feeling to life. I know she feels it too, or she's beginning to. You weren't there, the way she looked at me...the tension between us..."

"That's a dangerous game you're playing." Quinn warned. "It's turned from making her happy into a...a challenge or something."

"No, I'm letting her fall in love with me. I want this to be real before I tell her." Quinn shook her head disapprovingly.

"You're taking a chance that I don't think you should take." She remarked.

"She'll fall back in love with me, I'm sure of it." Santana said. Quinn stood up and dusted her skirt off. She opened the door and cast a glance back at Santana.

"Well, you have two weeks without that slimeball hanging off of her. You're Santana Lopez, you can definitely make her fall back in love with you in two weeks."


Santana went to Brittany's dance studio early. It had begun snowing again so she left at three to avoid the inevitable snow storm. Brittany was on the inside, stretching with the kids. Santana entered the building, caught Brittany's eye and waved slightly. She'd forgotten how good Brittany was with the kids. They adored her to a startling degree. She'd always been gentle and patient and she loved teaching. They'd once talked about having a kid of their own but Santana declined and Brittany was perfectly happy imagining that her students were her kids. Santana's mother always bugged her every time they visited for holidays saying things like "we're old! We need grandkids to spoil with our retirement money!" and "your genes are too beautiful not to pass on!" Santana agreed on that last point. She did know that her genes were good and Brittany's were just as amazing.

To be honest though, Santana was mostly afraid of being a bad mother. She wasn't good at being affectionate, it took Brittany years to get her soften her up enough to cuddle or kiss or to feel something more than general disdain. And Brittany was a special case. She couldn't think of a single living human being that could've done, or could do what Brittany did. She wasn't sure if she was even capable of doing that with another human, even her own flesh and blood.

Well, there was always one case. She imagined her kid to be just like her, bossy, assertive. They'd probably butt heads so often that they'd need to be walled off just to make sure they didn't tear each other's hair out. Her kid would be a little terror and Santana knew it. It ran in the family. She saw pictures of her mother when she was younger and heard the stories from her grandmother about how her mother used to tear up the school and send all the little "chicos" running for their lives. Her mother, now significantly calmed down (though her father once incurred her old wrath and it was a moment he never wished to relive), regaled Santana every time they had dinner together about what she was like in her younger days.

"Do you remember Puck?" Her mother would ask. Santana would groan and Brittany would squeeze her hand under the table. "Oh goodness he was bad news. A hot piece of bad news but bad news. To think you used to run around with him."

"Oh god, ew mom." Santana said. "Please don't ever call my ex-boyfriend a hot piece of whatever." Brittany laughed.

"Well, Mrs. Lopez, you don't have anything to worry about now. First off, Puck's definitely calmed down. Second, I'm not letting him near Santana ever again." Her mother would smile at Brittany and serve her more food and then rant about how everyone on that side of the family only had girls the first time around and with each generation, the tempers got worse, and the girls got prettier.

No, Santana was pretty much sure she would take her biological kid and dump her at the nearest reform school within a few years and Brittany would probably pick her up. Brittany probably had enough love to give to the both of them. But Santana could see herself being overprotective and spoiling the kid if it came out of Brittany. She would probably love that kid like no tomorrow.

Santana got so lost in the thoughts about kids that she didn't even notice the parents come in. One by one, the students rushed off to their mothers or fathers. Some clung desperately to Brittany's leg, not wanting to go. It usually took both Brittany and the parents to pry the child off and they would leave with the kid wailing at the top of their lungs. At around 5, it was only Brittany and Santana in the studio.

"Hey." Brittany said. It was the first word she had said to Santana since she arrived.

"You ready to go?" Santana asked.

"Yeah."

On the way back, Brittany chatted about how a kid accidentally hit his head on the bar and how he started crying and accidentally punched another kid which, apparently, gave that kid a green light to throw a swing at the nearest person who wasn't crying. It soon dissolved into a punching fest.

"Like dominos!" Brittany explained, making large sweeping motions. Santana laughed she almost hit her in the shoulder and retracted quickly. "Sorry." The snow was really coming down and Santana was worried that they would be stuck in the middle of traffic. She couldn't really see anything and there was already at least two inches snow on the ground, making driving difficult. Luckily, they got back just as the worst of it started to come down. They got out of the car and advanced towards the door.

"Santana?" Brittany called out. Santana turned around.

"Wha-" She didn't finish. A giant snowball hit her right cheek, bursting into a brilliant mass of white that blinded her for a moment. The cold sunk in and she desperately wiped the snow off. When she regained vision, she saw Brittany doubled over in laughter.

"Oh you are so going to get it!" Santana yelled rushing towards her. Brittany squeaked and began running across the lawn outside their building. Their actions mimicked the kids also on the lawn, except they were much taller, much older, but just as goofy. Santana finally caught up to Brittany (which was odd since Brittany was so much faster than Santana, having incredibly long legs helped) and tackled her into the snow. They landed with a loud "omph!" and Santana took a handful of snow and shoved it right in Brittany's face.

"Take that!" She exclaimed proudly

"Ack! Ack stop! I surrender!" Brittany yelled and Santana rolled off, smirking when Brittany sat up, her face completely covered in snow. Brittany sputtered and wiped it all off, her face red from the cold.

"You look flushed there." Santana teased. Brittany frowned, grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it down Santana's shirt. "COLD!" Santana screamed and stood up which only made the snow slide down her pants. Brittany's laughter echoed between the buildings.

By the time they got inside, they were freezing and sopping wet. Brittany changed into pajamas and took a shower while Santana warmed herself up by the heater. She had a kettle on the stove and was planning on making tea. Brittany exited the bathroom and Santana's breath caught in her throat. She was wearing a bathrobe that cut low where she tied it and her hair was wet and incredibly sexy. She felt her face flush, but not from the heat coming from the radiator. She quickly stood up.

"Your turn." Brittany said. Santana closed her mouth and quickly went into the bathroom, locking herself inside. She sank along the door, trying steady her heart beat.

Outside, Brittany flipped through the channels but more than that, she felt restless. She couldn't stop smiling either. She and Santana had finally made a connection and she was beginning to see why they had been such good friends. She tucked her hair behind her ear and couldn't help but chuckle. Just as she touched the remote again, everything in the apartment went dark. She set the remote down and heard the water turn off. Santana came out, wrapped in a towel.

"What happened?" Santana asked.

"I didn't do anything." Brittany said, putting her hands up in defense. The only light they had came from outside and the gas stove. Santana went over and turned that off.

"Snow storm must've killed a power line or something." Santana said thoughtfully, looking outside. It was practically a blizzard. The heat had also gone away so Santana couldn't take the hot shower she was so looking forward to. Instead, she shivered. Because they had just gotten inside, the apartment wasn't all that warm. In fact, it was quite chilly and Santana was still freezing. Brittany looked over at her as her teeth chattered slightly.

"Hey, you ok?"

"Yeah, just need to throw some clothes on, maybe get a blanket." Santana replied. Brittany put her arm around her comfortingly.

"I'm warm." She said. Santana looked at her in the darkness. Even though light was minimal, her eyes seemed to glow as they bore right into the very depths of Santana's soul. Santana exhaled deeply. Brittany noticed the tension between them and quickly removed her arm, feeling rather embarrassed at the intensity. It took Santana a moment to realize that it had still been too much for Brittany to handle.

"Um...I'm...I'm going to turn in for the night if the power is going to be down. Not much to do." Brittany said. Santana nodded and laid down on the couch. Brittany quickly went into the bedroom and curled up. The two of them drifted off with the same exact thoughts in their head; the antics of the earlier day and the sudden closeness that seemed to spring up out of nowhere.


It was around 1:00am when Brittany awoke. The heat had still not come back on and the entire apartment was freezing. She looked over at the thermostat inside the house and noticed that it said 45 degrees. Even with the heavy comforter, she was still cold. Still slightly drowsy and nothing exactly thinking through things, she came up with a solution. She stood up and made her way over to the living room.

Santana lay on the couch, curled in a ball with the covers wrapped tightly around her. She was snoring slightly, a trait that Brittany found instantly comforting. She sat down and touched Santana's cheek. It was cold. Even if it was a light touch, Santana stirred.

"What...what...jeez it's like a freezer in here." Santana mumbled, turning over. "Brit?" Brittany rubbed her arms for warmth.

"It's cold, San. Can you...can you sleep in the bed?" Santana blinked, the words sinking into her head and making her wide awake.

"What?" She said.

"I mean, you don't have to. Sorry, it was...sorry for waking you." Brittany stood up and began walking away. Santana sat up, the covers falling down by her waist, exposing her body to the temperature. She began shivering in seconds.

"Wait." Santana said, getting up and wrapping the covers around her. "You're right. We'll both be warmer this way." She said. Brittany smiled and the two of them walked into the bedroom. Santana laid down. It was a strange sensation, sleeping in the bed she hadn't slept in since the incident started. The mattress wasn't lumpy like the couch was and it took a little bit of getting use to the comfort before Santana settled down.

We're sleeping in the same bed again...Santana thought. She lay perfectly still and straight as a plank, even though she tossed and turned in her sleep normally. But she wasn't asleep, she was wide awake and all too aware of the body less than a foot away from her. Brittany did not have the same problem. In moments her breathing evened out. It was warm under the comforters, startlingly so. Santana kept her distance and it was almost painful. They were so close together. Santana could've reached over and put her arms around her and cuddled with her. But it would've startled Brittany.

It took a while for Santana to fall asleep but soon her eyelids got heavy and she began nodding off. Soon she was snoring peacefully, the snow outside lightening up. In the darkness, with the light reflecting off of the untouched whiteness to illuminate their slumbering faces, the two of them slept more soundly than they had in a very long time. Under the covers, in a motion so familiar to them, that it happened instinctively and though neither of them noticed, or would remember in the morning, their pinkies touched and slowly linked together.