October 20th 2018

Brittany never panicked.

She was pretty sure panicking, along with cow tipping and lassoing a kangaroo, was one of the things she'd never really come across. Even when a situation would arise; late for work or forgetting something really important, she would keep calm. She processed everything first without throwing herself in at the deep end. The only time Brittany would even consider to panic, would be if Kate Middleton and Prince William decided to split. They were like a Disney story; they had to live happily ever after.

Santana on the other hand, panicked like her life depended on it.

If the tiniest thing went wrong she would just throw her papers up in the air and leave, screaming as she charged down the streets of New York, tipping every hot dog stand she came across on her murderous rage. Just the other day Santana was about to launch herself from their flat window just because they didn't have the right damn pickles.

"God dammit Britt!" Santana paced heavily around the kitchen as Brittany continued to make Santana a salad sandwich, without pickles.

"Calm down San. They're just pickles." Brittany smirked to herself, taking a side glance at her on edge girlfriend.

"Just pickles?" Santana's eyes bulged. "Just. Pickles? Are you out of your mind? What if that's it? What if, after today, they don't sell any more of those specific pickles? What if, after today, I'll never be able to ever eat one of those pickles ever again just because you said you'd go out tomorrow to get some more?" Santana obviously wasn't angry at Brittany, but at the situation. She was full on panicking. Brittany couldn't help the quiet bubble of laughter that came from her throat. Luckily Santana didn't hear it.

"Or, what if I don't want the pickles by the time you get back with them? What if I've lost my appetite completely by then? Maybe I'll want something else, like a ham sandwich, deep friend in peanut butter and steak fat." Brittany grimaced in absolute disgust at the words that had just tumbled from her girlfriend's lips.

"Baby, that sounds gross."

"Are you kidding, that sounds so freaking awesome right now." Santana practically drooled down her chin as her gaze drifted to a faraway place. Brittany shook her head in amusement and finished the sandwich she was preparing for Santana. She pressed the bread to Santana's lips who jumped out of her daze and took a lazy bite.

"I don't know how you put up with me."

So yeah, Santana panicked. But Brittany, Brittany was as calm as the ocean on a peaceful summer's day.

Except for today.

"Baby why do I feel like this?" Santana groaned in pain, she rubbed the upper part of her stomach constantly, trying to easy they pressure and the stabbing agony however failing profusely.

"I don't know baby, I don't know. I'm getting you to the hospital the fastest I can, I promise you it's gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine." Brittany was so unconvincing that it actually hurt to listen to her. Her voice was pitched higher than usual; her breathing was nearly as frantic as Santana's and her words were a jumbled mess.

Her eyes darted left and right as she sped down the street, not caring for speed limits or cops. Santana was in pain and she had no idea why.

"Britt, my head feels like it's gonna explode. Oh my god…" Santana trailed off as she pressed at the top of her head with the palm of her hand. "I don't wanna lose the baby, god B, I don't wanna lose it." Tears were falling from Santana's eyes, trickling down her cheeks slowly.

"We're not gonna lose anything." Brittany reached across to rub Santana's stomach. Little did Santana know, Brittany was secretly screaming the exact same thing in her own head.

Brittany swerved into the hospital emergency area, hazardously pulling into the ambulance parking area before launching herself from the car and running around to support Santana as she slid from the passenger seat to the ground. Brittany carelessly slammed the car door behind her girlfriend and clasped Santana's clammy hand to keep her steady. Santana whimpered with every step. Brittany snaked an arm around the girl's waist.

As the two stumbled through the sliding doors Brittany called out, immediately grasping the attention of a young nurse with dark red hair. The girl rushed over with a wheelchair and helped lower Santana down.

"How far along is she?"

"About 22 weeks. She's had a headache for a few days now and she's started getting really bad stomach pain, I think she's got a temperature too." Brittany responded messily, trying to get her facts straight.

"Oh my god." Santana's voice was strained and pleading, pleading for the pain to stop. It was excruciating.

"It's okay baby." Brittany soothed, smoothing down raven hair with one hand while brushing down the side of Santana's burning face with her other as the nurse called for a doctor and a couple more nurses. "It's all going to be fine, I promise you, I promise you okay, you hear me." Santana's eyes had remained closed throughout the whole thing, since her legs had hit that chair she'd been concentrating so hard.

"Please, tell me what's doing this." Santana looked to the small, nurse that had been with them from the beginning.

"I have no idea. But I swear to you we're gonna find out. Don't worry, the only thing you can do is wait here, call someone to come and sit with you." The red head calmed the frazzled blonde as the doctor and other nurses bustled Santana into an examination room. Santana made a weak attempt to call out for Brittany but the feelings that were coursing through her body made words slip out in a murmur.

The nurse placed a reassuring hand on Brittany's shoulder, bringing the utterly shocked girl from her trance.

"I need to know some details; will you sit with me while we go through some things?" The young nurse gestured to some plastic hospital chairs just next to them. Brittany wordlessly slumped into the chair, brushing her hair from her face as tears finally fell onto her pale cheeks. "Believe me; they're doing everything they can in there. She doesn't seem unhealthy and that's just from me taking a quick look at her. Hopefully, it's just pre-birth cramps." The girl smiled reassuringly, pulling a clipboard down from the nurses' station directly by them.

"Okay." Brittany whispered, emotion ridden from her words.

"Okay." The nurse nodded. "My name's Carrie, I'm just going to ask you simple questions that will probably only require one word answers. They're not hard to answer." Brittany nodded, signalling she was ready.

"What's your relationship to the patient?"

"She's my girlfriend." Brittany nonchalantly responded.

"Okay, and the due date is around Christmas time yes?" Brittany nodded wordlessly, keeping her eyes trained to a speck on the floor in front of her.

"What's the patient's name?"

"Santana, Santana Lopez. She's 23." Brittany finally looked up just to settle her eyes on the adjacent wall.

"Is she allergic to anything? Medicine or foods?" Carrie tilted her head to try and catch some eye contact but she came up empty as Brittany's eyes glazed over with unshed tears.

"She hasn't reacted well to cough medicines ever since she was little, and she can't eat apples." Brittany added quickly, finally looking over to the nurse. Carrie offered a genuine smile.

"Okay, what's your name?"

"Brittany Pierce." Brittany felt her voice catch in her throat, a clear sign that she was about to cry, not just pretty girl weeping, but full on, tears streaming down her face, ugly crying. "Can I use the bathroom?" Brittany squeaked. Carrie, realising what was about to happen, quickly pointed her toward the room, explaining she'd be waiting for her when she got back.

Brittany nodded sharply and near ran towards the door. She threw herself into the first stall she came to and cried. She pulled her knees up to her chest, and buried her eyes into her knees, hugging her legs as close as she could to her body. Sobs wracked her body for a good few minutes. Of course, out of all the people in the world for this to happen to, it had to be them, a lesbian couple.

As the sobs quietened down she pulled out her cell, uncaring as to whether there were still rules about cell phones in hospitals. She clicked the second button on her speed dial. It rung a few times before Brittany heard someone pick up.

"Hey Britt." Quinn's cheery voice sounded over the receiver. Brittany mustered up all of what she had left inside of her, she had to be strong.

"Hey Q." Brittany closed her eyes in annoyance as her voice shook and broke.

"Brittany? What happened? Are you crying?" Leave it to her best friend to know, just from the two words that she spoke, to know something was wrong.

"It's Santana." Brittany took a deep breath as Quinn remained silent, waiting for her to continue. "Can you come to the hospital? I really need you." Brittany felt the tears rising up her throat once again.

"I'll be there in five B. Do you want me to stay on the phone?" Brittany heard Quinn's urgent footsteps on concrete. Brittany shook her head, then realised that Quinn couldn't see her.

"No, I need you to drive safe. I'm at emergency." Brittany's voice was so quiet she had no idea how Quinn was able to understand her.

"Hold on for me Britt. It's going to be okay. I'm coming." Quinn flipped her phone shut and started the engine of her car, pulling an illegal U turn before speeding in the direction of the hospital.

Brittany leant her head against the cool wall of the stall. She was still sat on the closed toilet seat with her knees pulled up to her chest.

What if it wasn't going to be okay?

Hey, sorry again for my update speed. I know it's crappy, but I think we can all blame my friend who introduced me to the fic Taking The Long Way, I'm sure some of you read it, anyway, I've just got into reading it and it's about 70 chapters long but my god, it is all kinds of awesome. I really recommend it. Anyway, thank you so much for everyone still reading this. I love your reviews! They often make my day. And to the reviewer who asked about Mercedes, don't worry about other characters, I do plan on using most of the glee club members, they might not be there in person, but they probably will make an appearance.

I also just wanna say that any mistakes are mine; I don't like proof reading because I often cringe at my own writing but I do try.