A/N: I always appreciate reviews. Criticism is like my best friend when I'm writing. Thanks for those who continue to read and review.

Warnings: I don't own Glee or any of the characters or any of the songs I may use. This will include lesbian sex, maybe some hetero but it's not likely. Possibly Finn bashing, I'm not entirely sure how yet, but I'll try to find a way, might even toss in some Jesse bashing.

Santana seemed to fit in with my family quite easily. Aunt Vivienne and Uncle James loved her and Matt was more than willing to let us tag along with him. Breakfast the day after we arrived was interesting. Matt had to Drive Santana to the store to pick up something for me to eat. While I was on the phone with her, Aunt Viv remembered a few things she needed Matt to get.

"Santana, can you make sure Matt gets some sugar?"

"Yes ma'am," Santana assured.

"Aunt V," the woman scolded, "And some more eggs."

"I'll put the phone on speaker."

"Thank you honey. Matthew you heard the eggs and sugar, right?"

"Yes, mom."
I felt the need to remind Santana, "Don't forget to read the packages.

"Rachel, if you start that again you can eat eggs with everyone else," She warned. I could hear Matt chuckling in the background.

I scowled, "No, Santana I refuse to eat chicken fet" Aunt V clapped a hand over my mouth.

"Just get whatever you two will need for your stay."

"Matthew," a woman called from the other line, "Is this your new girlfriend?"

"Oh God," Aunt V groaned.

Santana took it off speaker, "Should I be worried?"

"For the next three weeks? Yes. The Lima rumor mill is up and running now."

"I think I have to hug people," Santana sounded worried before the line went dead.

"They'll be alright," Aunt V assured.

I watched her make what breakfast she could, grimacing at the cracked eggs and frying bacon but keeping my comments to myself. Finally, Santana and Matt were back, arguing about video games. Aunt V cleaned the stove easily and Santana started some oatmeal. Matt set places at the table and when everything was all done we settled to eat. I sat between Matt and Santana and regretted it when they got the whole table into a discussion about sports. Aunt V had to make Santana, Daddy, Matt, and Uncle James sit down rather than allowing them to compare the proper stance to throw a football and to throw a punch. Breakfast calmed down to Daddy trying to convince Santana to get some of Aunt V's recipes and Uncle James trying to get Aunt V to share. The adults settled us with the task of cleaning.

"Santana washes, Rachel fries, Matt puts the dishes away," Aunt V declared.

"Works for me," Santana shrugged.

In the few attempts we made at switching our designated jobs we learned that Matt dried to hard and dropped plates and I was too short to put anything away. Santana handled each task better than either of us.

"San, you think you can put your money where your mouth is?" Matt asked

"Anytime" she assured the boy haughtily.

"You want to come to the park with us, Rach?" My cousin asked.

""You play football?" Santana asked shocked.

Matt laughed, "Go no! She's too small to play tackle, besides, she's a butterfingers."

"Am not," I challenged, passing him the plate, I turned back just in time to see Santana with a wash rag in hand, "Santana Lopez, don't you da-"

The rag slipped past my fingers and hit my chest with a distinctly wet sound before flopping to the ground.

They lapsed into hysterical laughter. I could hear it as I stormed into our shared room. When it finally settled down Santana was coming through the door, "Maybe you could try soccer."

"Ha ha," I mumbled dryly.

She sat on the bed next to me, "Come on, you can watch me tear up the field."

"I didn't know you played football," I pointed out.

She shook her head, "I don't but how hard could it be?"

}{

She changed into sweats and a tank-top, opting to leave her usual coat home. It was fairly warm out. The adults decided to join us as we made the short walk and sat on the sidelines as we saw that the boys had already started. Kurt waved me over to where he was watching Blaine, an Asian girl sat next to him.

"She really thinks she's going to do something, doesn't she?" The boy asked curiously.

"I have no idea," I assured, "But I don't think I could have stopped her either way."

We could see the boys, two especially, questioning her presence on the field. They were still arguing when Finn finally took her onto his team.

"That was nice of him," I smiled.

"Until Karofsky and Azimio start bugging her," the Asian girl mentioned, pointing out the two boys.

I grew a bit worried as I looked the scene over.

"This is one way to get rid of her," Dad mumbled as he sat next to me.

"You never know, this could be another skill to add to her resume," I pointed out.

He scoffed, "I don't think "Target for grown me," qualifies her for anything more than a court case."

I elbowed him as they started playing again.

At firs both teams, especially her own, ignored her. The blonde boy, Sam, went out of his way to keep her from getting tackled accidentally. They didn't care too much for her until she blocked a few of Mike and Matt's catches. Azimio and David made a lot more of an effort to keep her out of the way. It took some time before they finally started throwing the ball to her rather than Sam or Puck and Blaine finally sat out. They'd been tied when Finn called them in.

Blaine seemed very interested, "Poor Santana."

"What? Why?" I asked nervously.

He pointed to Finn, "If I'm right, Finn's going to try to get her to run it. She's faster than anybody on the field and that's including Sam who's been guarding her."

I nodded, not entirely understanding how that was bad.

"If she makes it, great, but David and Azimio have had their eyes on her for a while now," I noticed the boys glares permanently fixed on her.

They finally lined up again and Finn was yelling. He moved back as if he was going to throw the ball before passing it to Santana. She turned out of the way as Mike tried to catch her and side-stepped Matt. Azimio tried to intimidate her with his size but she moved around him fast enough that the two boys previously tailing her crashed into him. She finally reached Dave and he was in her way. She made a split-second decision and a haughty smirk crossed her face as she went head-on towards the boy. Dave looked just as full of himself as the girl bolted toward him. He dived for her and she tried to jump over his back. I couldn't see exactly what happened but she tumbled forward and Finn, Noah, Sam and Blaine were running towards her cheering. She looked a little dizzy and she was clutching her wrist but she grinned as they pulled her onto their shoulders. When they let her back down, she came over to me, grimacing as she clutched her wrist.

"Had fun?" I asked, taking her left hand to inspect the damage.

"Kicking ass? Hell yeah," she seemed a little too proud. Dad had long ago migrated away from us.

I moved her hand a little watching her scowl, "And breaking bones."

"It's not broken," she assured, taking it back.

"Probably sprained," Blaine supplied.

Kurt handed her a soda can from an ice chest next to him.

"Thanks," she held it to her wrist.

Daddy, Uncle James, and Matt were already surrounding her.

"You're on my team next time," Matt declared as he patted her back.

"In your face! My kid whooped yours, no offense Matt," Daddy was doing some awkward version of the running man.

"She's not even yours!" Uncle James pointed out.

Daddy shook his head before kneeling to hug a slightly blushing Santana, "She's an official Berry now."

"Is that a curse or a blessing?" She asked, setting off more laughter as she stood up, and even through the joke she looked genuinely happy.

"You're covered in dirt and that's probably going to start swelling," I pointed out as I looked to her wrist.

She shrugged, still enjoying the high of celebration.

"Let me push you on the swings," She tiled her head towards the metal structure.

I really should have said no. She was already hurt and it was so childish, but maybe that's why I let her drag me from everyone else. Up until then she'd seemed too serious, even when she was arguing about candy with Cosette or drinking at the club, there was a forced maturity about her. I hadn't seen her so happy or so willing to drop the tough persona and I liked it. Even how ecstatic she seemed at Daddy's declaration was a nice change.

"Don't use your bad hand," I warned as I sat on the rubber seat.

She scoffed, which was more familiar to me, "I'm not stupid."

"Well…" I teased as I felt her hand on my back. As I went up I kicked forward and then her hand was on my back once more. We followed that pattern until she sat on the swing next to me. We kicked lazily in the silence until we were both just sitting.

I would have been content with that, until she turned to me, shifting slightly on the seat, "I used to, um love the swings when I was little."

I looked to her curiously, taking in her downcast eyes and hoping she'd continue.

This was yet another side of her I certainly hadn't seen. A shy Santana, voice small, ego and façade subtracted from the picture, went on, "My, um, dad would push me."

I wanted to ask more. Where that had come from? What had brought it up? What happened to her dad? Where was he now? What about her mother? I knew that pushing would only result in unanswered questions. Instead I kept looking her over, seething in my rampant curiosity but doing my best to contain it.

She didn't have much else to say as we sat there. I hoped for more but it didn't come. In time, interruption came in the form of an adorably grinning Finn came over.

"Hey, Santana," he greeted the girl, "Hey Rachel."

"Hi Finn," I still wanted to hear from Santana but it didn't seem likely that I'd be hearing more with Finn around.

"Um, some of the guys are going to Breadstix and we were wondering if you wanted to come?" He mostly seemed to be talking to me.

I looked to Santana, whatever innocent content she'd been feeling was replaced by her usual front of boredom, hinted with skepticism as she looked the boy over.

"We'd love to," I assured, "After getting cleaned up though."

"Alr-"

"Hey, sweetheart," an overly perky blonde girl came up and took his arm, "Who are your friends?"

"Um, hey Quinn," the boy looked almost guilty as he smiled down at the blonde, "These are Matt's cousins Rachel and Santana."

Santana was about to comment when the blonde went on.

"It's nice to meet you," she said in her overly sugar-coated voice, "Are you going to lunch with us?"

"Yes, Santana and I were planning on joining everyone after getting cleaned up. Well, as long as Matt's willing to wait for us, considering he's our ride around town at the moment."

She'd looked away from me to examine Santana for a moment. She seemed to be scrutinizing her, and her smile faltered for a moment before she looked back to me, "I can't wait. You should come sit with me and my friends, you know, to give the boys their time."

"I'm fine with boy time," Santana assured.

"I'm sure," she tilted her head slightly.

Santana's eyebrows knit together for a moment before an amused curl came to her lips, "We'll see you there, Kim." She grabbed my wrist lightly with her right hand and tugged me away.

"It's Quinn," the girl corrected.

"I'm sure," Santana waved lazily over her shoulder.

"See you," Finn called.

"Bye," I waved to the couple, feeling guilty even as I smiled at the tall boy.

I heard them speaking heatedly behind as us Santana took us to where my family was getting ready to leave.

"I can feel myself liking Lima," she had the same smirk from the football game on her face.

She let go of my wrist, "I don't like that look."

"You'll learn to appreciate it," she assured.

Aunt V came to us, holding out a wrist brace to Santana, "It's Matt's old one; he used to use it all the time."

"Thank you M- Aunt V," she smiled and took the brace and slipped it on, with my assistance.

"No problem honey, but you should put some ice on that too," she pointed out, "And get cleaned up for your victory lunch, Rachel knows where the towels and things are for the bathroom." She kissed both of our foreheads before heading back to the men still talking about the game.

I showed Santana the towels and things in the guest bathroom before going to take my own shower in the main bathroom. I was quite shocked to see her in Cosette's dress when I went back to the room, dressed in a black skirt and a navy blue button up. I watched her running her fingers through her hair for a moment. When she finally turned around she looked my outfit up and down for a moment before coming to me and unbuttoning some of the buttons far too low for my liking.

"I don't feel as much like your babysitter when you actually look your age," she explained.

"At what age is it appropriate to flash a restaurant?" I questioned batting her hands away.

"Depends how badly you want lunch," she teased.

I scowled at her, and finally gave up, settling for one button above the cleavage Santana seemed so intent on exposing, "Why are you getting so dressed up?"

She shrugged, "Trying to make a good impression."

"It has something to do with Quinn, doesn't it?" I wondered.

She shrugged again, "I'm on like a whole different level from her. Seriously, this," she waved down her body in the tight fitting dress, "tops a sundress."

"I thought she looked nice," I pointed out.

"You would," she rolled her eyes but still smiled.

She held out the brace for me to put it on, "I never thought I'd see you in that dress again."

"Even I have to appreciate what it does for my body." I wondered if there was any stopping her ego.

}{

When she said she didn't mind boy time Santana wasn't lying. I hadn't exactly seen her interact with any boys to the extent she did with girls but it was very different from her interactions with girls. She was the aggressor either way but it was much more subtle with boys. She almost made it seem like it was their idea when they sought her attention; tugging her onto their lap to talk about something she pretended to care about, bragging about some game or event, or even playing with the hem of her skirt. Mostly, Noah and Sam were her targets, but that didn't stop the others from watching.

I sat at a table of girls, Tina, Mike's girlfriend, Quinn and her two friends Mercedes and Brittany. Brittany was a bubbly blonde, her cheeriness far more genuine than Quinn's. Mercedes was a larger black girl who seemed unhappy with my presence and even less thrilled by Santana's on Noah's lap. Kurt and Blaine were sharing glances at the table behind us. Santana finally drew herself away from the boys table to come sit next to me, although it seemed she'd stolen their basket of breadsticks.

"You're having a little too much fun," I pointed out playfully.

"I'd say so," Mercedes said past a scowl.

"Do you have a problem, Wheezy?" Santana asked, hardly caring to put her breadstick down.

"As a matter of fact," the girl huffed, "I do."

"And what might that be?" Santana did her best to keep the bored tone in her voice but it worried me that I could see how amused she was.

"I have a problem with you rubbing all up on my man," the girl raised her voice slightly and the boys table had even quieted to look at us.

"Your man?" Noah questioned.

"First of all, He didn't think he was "your man" when I was all up on him," Santana challenged, finally letting her smirk show, "and second of all, I'm not appreciating all this attention, so if you'd kindly move the fuck on, I won't have to make you."

"Oh hell to the no," Brittany stood from her seat allowing the girl slide out of the booth before moving to grab Santana by the front of her dress.

"San," I tried to warn.

"See, I'm going to ask you nicely, one more time, to move the fuck on and let go of me," Santana's voice was leveled but there was an edge to it as I saw her fists clench.

"Your shit may fly wherever you're from, but we don't play that in Lima Heights Adjacent," she was in Santana's face now.

"Lima Heights Adjacent?" I wondered.

Everyone else shook their head.

"Well," Santana gripped the girl's wrist in her weak hand, "I don't play wrinkles in my damn dress." She twisted the girl's wrist slightly and I was shocked when she yelped and let her go. It only took her a moment before she was swinging at Santana. Santana stayed mostly out of her reach. It took a moment but the boys finally developed some sense as Noah grabbed Mercedes and Sam grabbed Santana before she could continue teasing the girl.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," a man who I assumed was the manager asked us.

"Gladly," Santana scowled, although she took another breadstick as we left.

I assured Matt we'd be alright to walk home before following her out.

Some of the other kids were slipping out as well.

"I suppose we should find you a gym," I pointed out.

Her eyebrows were set tightly as she kept walking.

"Noah really didn't seem particularly interested in her."

She shook her head slightly, "He wasn't, trust me."

"He and Sam seemed far more interested in you."

"I'm sorry for ruining your lunch," she shrugged.

I nudged her, "To be honest, that was somewhat thrilling."

She looked down at me somewhat amused, "If it didn't go against my job description I might like watching you in a catfight."

"Thank you?"

"Santana? Right?" The other blonde from the restaurant pulled up to us in a minivan.

Santana scowled at the girl.

"I'm really sorry about Mercedes. She's usually a lot nicer," she tried to explain.

"I'll believe that when I see it," she glared back at the restaurant.

"Her and Quinn are just grumpy since you guys are like shiny new toys for the boys," the blonde shrugged, but held up a paper Breadstix bag, "You like these right? You can have 'em if you let me give you a ride home."

Santana looked skeptical but looked to me. When I could only offer her a shrug, she examined the car for any signs of the other girls before urging me into the backseat.

The blonde smiled and dropped the bag into her lap.

"You're Brittany, right?" I asked as I pulled my seat belt on.

"Mhum," she nodded, beaming as she drove, "Um, you're staying with Matt right?"

"Yes," I nodded.

Santana was already eating another breadstick, "Did you, like, want something?"

"San," I hit her shoulder lightly.

"What? Typically, after you start a fight with someone's friend they're a lot more likely to hit you with their car than offer you a ride," she shrugged.

"It's true," Brittany agreed, "But I don't have a license so I don't really want to talk to the cops."

We both stared at the girl, a little in shock for a moment.

"And I felt bad for you getting kicked out."

"That's alright," Santana said although she was still obviously stuck on the girl's previous comment.

"Should you be driving without a license?" I wondered, trying to worry about one thing at a time.

She shrugged, "Plenty of kids do."

"That's comforting," I sighed, looking out the window nervously.

"I haven't seen any wrecks yet," Santana pointed out.

"Since you guys are staying with Matt, does that mean you'll be going to McKinley?" The blonde queried.

Santana shrugged, "Wouldn't mind hanging around the school. Why?"

I felt my heart stop as the girl let go of the wheel to clap before reclaiming it, "I could be your tour guide, I mean, I usually spend the day with Quinn and Mercedes but I don't think they'll mind."

"I don't know," Santana didn't seem to sure.

"That'd be wonderful Brittany. It would be nice to have a guide through the school," I smiled at the girl in the rear-view mirror.

Brittany dropped us off at Matt's house after a bit more light chatter. She let me go with a warm waved but she gave Santana a somewhat unexpected peck on the cheek. The girl drove off as we headed inside. Santana was struggling to hide a slight smile as she finished the bag of breadsticks. She was going to throw the bag away when I noticed a slight scrawl on it. I looked it over quickly.

I held it up for Santana to read the phone number, "It seems you're pretty popular here."

She took the bag and tapped the number into her phone, "Of course I am."

"It's good to see that this small town has done wonders for your ego," I murmured, settling onto the couch.

"I'm not the only one making friends," she pointed out, "Or enemies."

I scoffed at that, "Unlike you, Santana, I haven't gone out of my way to offend or insult anyone."

She smirked challengingly, "You mean you haven't been making eyes at another girl's boyfriend?"

"You're one to talk," I replied.

"Puck isn't interested in her otherwise he wouldn't have been all over me," she explained, "But Finn is with Quinn. I'm not going to let her touch you, but that doesn't mean you aren't doing anything to their relationship."

I felt something well up inside me as that conversation came to an end. It was bitter and unsettling. Santana had already seemed to move on as she changed into a clean tank-top and shorts and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. She left for a moment and came back with an icepack for her wrist which had, as predicted, swollen.

"Can we watch a movie? I asked, wanting to break the silence.

She looked me over curiously before nodding, "You're in charge."

"I almost believe you," I smiled as I moved off of the couch to my suitcase.

"No Babs," she warned.

I pouted at the small collection in my bag before deciding on one I was sure she would like.

Somewhere after Last Year's Rent and before Today for You Tomorrow for Me, Aunt V and Daddy had ended up in the dark room with us. By Take Me or Leave Me they were asleep. At the reprise of I'll Cover You at Angel's funeral I had my head on Santana's lap and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. The movie had ended, credits had rolled, and the start screen was muted when I woke up amidst the others. Santana was still awake though. She was humming what sounded like I'll Cover You as she brushed my hair unconsciously.

"Uncle James ordered in if you're hungry," she murmured, clicking the remote so the movie started playing again.

"What? We just ate," I rubbed my eyes as I sat up.

I could see a tired smile in the unnatural light from the television as it crossed her face, "You guys slept all day."

My eyes widened slightly, "You let me sleep so long?"

"I wasn't aware I was your alarm clock," she teased.

My glare faded quickly as I yawned and settled my head on her shoulder, "How's your wrist?"

She looked down to the ice pack, "Sore. The ice melted."

"C'mon," I stood up sluggishly.

We watched when both Daddy and Aunt V groaned but left as they settled again.

I led Santana to the kitchen, "Why didn't you get more ice?"

She shrugged and leaned against the counter, "You were kind of sleeping on me."

I rolled my eyes, something I must have picked up from her, "So you just sat there all day?"

"No," she sneered, "From my seat I performed an open heart surgery, prepared a four course meal, and finished not one but two tri-athalons."

I snatched the ice pack from her hand and contemplated dumping the water on her. I settled for splashing her as I emptied it into the sink.

"I watched the movie again and texted," she watched as I filled the bag with fresh ice and sealed it, "Cosette said hi, by the way."

I nodded and handed over the pack, "Did she say anything about your latest ventures."

She grinned as she pulled out her phone, ""Go for the blonde girl because you'd be lying if you said you didn't want to and she brought you food."" Um, "Tell me what Trouty Mouth's lips are like," and uh, "Mohawks are a bad sign. Next thing you know you'll be raising his children to the soundtrack of his failed rock-star career.""

"That's terrible," I gaped at her.

"I know! The last one was pretty morbid," she shuddered.

"I meant all of them," I corrected, "She might as well have just told you to let them line up and take turns."

She held up the phone, scrolling through her messages, "Actually-"

"I was joking!" I almost shouted; my face was tinted red.

"I don't think she was," she laughed. "Want to hear what she had to say about your situation?"

I glared at the phone for a moment until curiosity got the best of me, "I suppose."

She located the message, ""If you'd stop hogging all of the singles and pissing people off, Rachel wouldn't have to go after someone else's boyfriend. But it's good to know she isn't asexual. Pretty soon you'll be giving her 'The Talk.'""

I knew I was still blushing, "You two are awful. I'm not going after anyone's boyfriend nor am I asexual. I'll have you know that my father's have already provided me with the resources to learn all that I need to know about sexual intercourse."

Santana stared at me blankly for a beat. I was almost certain she was expecting more when she spoke, "My libido just died a little bit. First of all, don't ever say sexual intercourse again," she shook her head, "and second, what do you mean provided resources?"

I worried my lip "They gave me a number of informational pamphlets that led me to many very educational websites."

She almost cringed at that. "I can't help but wonder what other joys you went at the start of puberty," she mumbled dryly.

I blanched at that, "I'd rather not talk about that."

"I get it," she nodded, "But this discussion isn't over."

I nodded, not entirely thrilled with that.

"How long have we been out?" Daddy groaned from the doorway.

"All day," I answered, watching him stretch.

"What?" Aunt V worried, "I'm sorry for being such a terrible hostess. I got caught up in the movie."

"It's cool," Santana assured, "We all sort of crashed."

"Uncle James ordered in," I pointed to the bags on the stove.

"I knew there was a reason I love that man," she smiled before going to look for the rest of the family.

Daddy yawned, "I forgot to ask; how was lunch?"

"Interesting," I supplied, "Santana's made friends."

"That's good," he smiled, "Anyone interesting?"

She scowled at me before answering, "This boy Finn, he was the quarterback on my team. He and Rachel got along really well too."

"Really?" Daddy got a gossipy smile on his face. If any stories I'd heard were true, it was his Lima showing.

"Yes, Daddy, I even sat with his girlfriend and her friends, although Santana preferred sitting with the boys."

"Oh sweetie," he came and kissed my forehead, "You're finally getting the sibling experience you've been missing out on."

Dad came in, quirking an eyebrow at their laughter, "Did I miss something?"

"Nothing important," I assured.

"Right, well, are you doing anything tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yes, I was thinking of going to the high school and finding out if I could utilize their exercise facilities."

"Really?" Aunt V asked as she came back in the kitchen with Uncle James and Matt in tow.

"Awesome, I so win at show and tell in glee club," Matt cheered.

Aunt V smiled even as she warned, "Just keep an eye on that Puckerman boy, he's nothing but trouble."

"So we've heard," Santana laughed.

"Santana's already got her eye on him,' I mentioned.

Dad made a disapproving noise, Daddy nudged him, and Santana glared at me.

"Damn, I was hoping she'd marry Matt," Uncle James pouted playfully.

"My thoughts exactly big bro," Daddy assured his own pout in place.

We all laughed at Santana and Matt's expense a bit longer before moving onto the next subject. Big family dinners were something rare that I'd grown to look forward to in the few times that I got them, but I couldn't say I enjoyed them nearly as much as Santana seemed to. Even the prying into her personal life, the embarrassing questions, and the bad jokes shared among each other made her smile in that childish way that seemed so foreign on her face but I couldn't deny that I wanted to see more of it.