Chapter 8
Brittany woke up confused. She didn't recognize the room she was in, and she didn't even recognize the clothes she was wearing. She started to stretch the kinks out of her body only to whimper in pain as her ribs made her remember what had happened yesterday.
It hit her then that she was at Santana's. In Santana's bed. She barely remembered Santana helping her into her bedroom last night, but she did remember offering to share the bed. Santana had turned her down.
Brittany was a little sad by that, but, at the same time, it was probably for the best. It wasn't as if she would have been awake enough to enjoy the feel of the other woman's body next to hers. Plus, her ribs most likely would have been worse off if she tried cuddling Santana in the night like she probably would have ended up doing.
Brittany turned her head to the nightstand to try to see what time it was. She found her cell phone, a glass of water, her pill bottle, a blueberry muffin, and a note. Her lips automatically turned up into a smile as she saw how sweet Santana was. How anyone could think that Santana was a bitch was beyond her. Clearly, the woman was amazingly caring. Everything she had done for Brittany since yesterday was just further proof of what Brittany had thought since the beginning.
She carefully sat up and propped herself up against the headboard. She grabbed the handwritten note, admiring Santana's loopy scrawl.
"Brittany-
I'm sorry, but I had to go into work. I will try to get out by lunch so I will give you a call when I leave so I can pick us up some food. Make sure to eat some breakfast before you take your next pain pill. Call me if you need anything. Anything at all. Or you can text me. I will see you later.
Santana"
Brittany's smile grew into a full blown grin. She couldn't stop herself from holding the piece of paper against her smiling lips and giving a little squeal of happiness at how Santana's actions were making her heart skip a beat. She could almost swear that she could smell Santana's perfume on the paper. But that was just crazy, right?
Brittany shook herself out of her Santana daze and put the note down in her lap as she grabbed the muffin. She could tell it wasn't homemade, but it was clearly made fresh this morning. So Santana had gone out to pick her up some breakfast on top of everything else. Clearly she cared about Brittany.
Brittany unwrapped the muffin and took a bite, delighting in the flavor. She wasn't all that hungry since her ribs were a bit painful, but she knew that she needed to have food in her stomach so she could take her pain pill. She needed to be able to move well enough so she didn't rely on Santana all the time until she was fully healed.
So she ate the whole thing. Then she checked the time on her phone and saw that it was after 9:30am. She took her pill, knowing that she could take another dose in the afternoon if needed. Then she picked her phone up to text Santana.
Good morning. Thanks for the muffin. It was delicious :)- Brittany
She wasn't expecting a reply anytime soon, so she was surprised when her phone chimed with a text message notification.
Good morning. Glad you liked it. How are you feeling?- Santana
The smile that seemed to be permanently plastered to Brittany's face grew as she read Santana's words. That woman was seriously the best person Brittany had ever remembered meeting.
A little sore, but I took some more medicine so hopefully it will go away soon- Brittany
Just make sure you take it easy today. I should be home in a few hours so just rest until I get there. Anything special you want for lunch?- Santana
I was probably just going to watch some TV or a movie if that's okay?- Brittany
And anything you want to pick up is fine, though I don't know how hungry I will be on these pills- Brittany
She also didn't know how long she would even be able to stay awake on the pills. They had definitely knocked her out last night, so much so that she didn't even hear Santana leaving the stuff on the nightstand this morning or getting ready for work.
Feel free to watch whatever you want, Britt. Make yourself at home. And how about some soup for lunch?- Santana
Soup sounds wonderful actually. Chicken noodle?- Brittany
Chicken noodle it is :)- Santana
Brittany decided to try to move out onto the couch so she could watch something and so she could maybe hear Santana coming home. She cautiously got out of bed, only wincing a little as she sat up, and considered it a victory. She moved more easily than she thought she would out to the living area. She looked through Santana's movie collection and saw a lot of variety.
Brittany grinned when she spied one of her favorite Disney movies among the titles. She slid it out and popped it into the player before getting herself comfortable on the couch. She pulled the blanket over her legs and laid back as the opening of 'Beauty and the Beast' played.
She grabbed her phone off of her lap and pulled up her text messages. She knew Quinn was probably still worried about her, so she sent a quick message letting her know that she was doing okay, just a little sore. She also texted Rachel and Kurt, thanking them for their concern yesterday and promising to see them soon. Finally, she texted her mom and dad to let them know what had happened, since she hadn't done so in all of the chaos yesterday.
Brittany hadn't wanted them to worry, so that was another reason why she wanted to wait until today. She made it clear that she was fine and nothing really important was taken. Her mom was clearly concerned but was calmed by Brittany's reassurances.
Her father was a little confused about what mugging was at first, thinking it had something to do with a coffee cup, but once the clarification was made he had a little freak out. Brittany knew that he would be the first to mention jumping on a plane to come see her, so she knew how to talk him down when he did. She loved her dad a lot, and it was clear how much he loved her back. She promised that she would come visit soon, the acute sting of missing her family making itself known.
Rachel and Kurt had replied to her, telling her that they were willing to hang out as soon as Brittany felt up to it. Quinn still hadn't responded, which didn't surprise Brittany since she was probably busy with work. So she concentrated on watching the movie.
It was some time after 'Be Our Guest' that Brittany's eyes fluttered shut and she fell asleep.
The next thing she knew, the sound of a door closing had her opening her eyes, blinking in confusion as she tried to figure out where she was once again. She saw the DVD menu for the movie on the TV screen and remembered where she was. She must have fallen asleep during the movie. Then she remembered that a sound had woken her up, so she looked to the door to find Santana standing there looking at her with an adorable smile on her face.
Brittany could almost swear there was a look of something more in her eyes.
"Hey," she greeted, her voice a little raspy from sleep.
"Hi," Santana replied, her smile still in place. "Did you have a good nap?"
Brittany found herself starting to smile in return, enjoying this easy camaraderie with the other woman. "Apparently I did," she said with a little laugh.
Santana grinned. "Well at least I know you're getting rest." Brittany nodded. "I brought soup. And I got a couple of sandwiches if you were really hungry."
Santana held up the bag she was carrying before she headed toward the couch. She set the bag on the coffee table as Brittany tried sitting up. Brittany grimaced and whimpered quietly, but it was loud enough for Santana to hear. Santana snapped her head toward Brittany and hurried over to help her carefully sit up.
"Easy, easy," she admonished as she gently helped her up. "I am here to help, you know."
"I just feel bad for you having to help take care of me," Brittany said, a guilty look on her face as she locked her eyes with Santana's concerned gaze.
"I don't mind it, Britt. That's why I offered to have you stay here."
Brittany could tell that Santana was being completely honest, and the thought both gave her a pleasant tingle in her chest and a less pleasant feeling of helplessness at needing to rely on someone at all.
"I really do appreciate it, Santana," she said earnestly. "I honestly didn't even realize that it would hurt that bad to try and sit up. I just hate the thought of having to inconvenience you when I know you are really busy."
"I am never too busy to help out a friend," Santana told her as she sat on the couch. She tucked a strand of Brittany's hair behind her ear and Brittany's breath caught. They seemed to be stuck in each other's eyes, the pull of Santana's chocolate gaze almost hypnotizing.
Brittany could feel her body being drawn toward Santana, as if it were magnetic and Santana was its polar opposite. She wanted to kiss her so badly. Santana's hand had moved from her ear down to her shoulder, where it rested. Brittany could feel the fingers tense slightly into her flesh as they drifted closer. Brittany's heart was pounding so loud that she was sure Santana could hear it, and her breathing was suspended as she waited for the touch of the beautiful brunette's lips on hers. Just as Brittany was sure they would reach the point of no return, a phone's chime startled them out of their stupor.
Santana jumped back, quickly removing her hand from Brittany's shoulder. Brittany just jumped slightly at the sound, disappointed when Santana slid away from her so hastily.
Santana turned her attention to the bag with the food, pulling out containers of soup and two wrapped sandwiches and studiously ignoring what had just happened. Brittany sighed at the drastic change of mood, and moved to grab her phone which was had so annoyingly interrupted them.
She nearly groaned aloud when she saw it was a text from Quinn. That woman seriously had the worst timing ever.
Glad you are feeling better. How was staying with Santana?- Quinn
Brittany couldn't hold back her whine of frustration this time. She had the chance to maybe kiss Santana, and was interrupted for this stupid text? Seriously?
"You okay?" Santana's question snapped her attention away from her phone. "Do you need another pill?"
Santana still wasn't as close to her as she was before, but the awkwardness seemed to have mostly disappeared from Santana's body language. She was closely watching Brittany for any sign of further pain or discomfort.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Brittany said. "It's just Quinn annoying me."
Santana scrutinized her for another moment before she seemed to let it go. Brittany just tossed her phone back on the arm of the couch and ignored Quinn's text for the time being.
"So are you just wanting the soup, or I got a ham sandwich and a turkey if you were wanting a little bit more," Santana said, gesturing to the food.
"I think maybe half of the turkey sandwich and some soup would be great," Brittany said.
Santana nodded with a little smile, and she handed Brittany the turkey sandwich. She slid a container of soup toward her on the coffee table with a plastic spoon and set the other one in front of herself. Brittany unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite.
"Mmm, this is good," she mumbled around her food.
Santana laughed. "Maybe you should swallow it first so you don't choke."
Brittany just shrugged, not caring, and took another bite.
"Did you want some water?" Santana asked, amused at Brittany's enthusiasm for the food.
"Yesh, pweesh," she said with her mouth full.
Santana rolled her eyes and got up to get them some drinks. Brittany scooted to the edge of the couch and set her sandwich on the table before grabbing her soup. She popped the top off of the container and hummed happily as the scent of the chicken noodley goodness hit her nostrils. She was surprisingly hungrier than she thought she would be, so she dipped her spoon in and brought it straight to her mouth.
The burning shouldn't have surprised her, yet her eyes widened as the heat overtook her tongue and roof of her mouth. She inhaled sharply through her nose, only that seemed to make it worse. She had no choice but to spit the soup back into the container, whimpering as it felt like she had flames in her mouth.
"Oh my God, Britt! Are you okay? Here, have some water," Santana said hurriedly, bringing the glass of water to her. Brittany took the glass quickly and gulped it. The cool water immediately soothed her mouth and she felt significantly better.
"Thanks," she told Santana, putting the hot soup back on the coffee table. "I think maybe I will let that cool for a few minutes."
Santana bit her lip to fight off a smile, though she wasn't very successful. "That's probably a good idea. Did you burn your tongue too badly?"
Brittany chuckled at herself. "Not too badly. It just smelled really good and I didn't even think that it would be that hot. The water helped a lot, so thank you."
"Am I going to have to be concerned about you hurting yourself worse when I'm supposed to be taking care of you?" Santana joked.
"I don't know," Brittany joked back. "I am not usually this accident prone though. I guess I am just having a stroke of bad luck."
"Then I guess I should keep a closer eye on you to make sure you don't lose a finger or something," she said with a smile, and Brittany gave a shy smile back as she saw the sparkle in Santana's eyes.
Brittany couldn't help but think that Santana was truly the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. These funny little feelings she kept getting in her stomach and chest were so different than what she had ever felt before for anyone she had ever found attractive or dated. And Santana just made the feelings intensify when she did all of these super sweet things for her. If Brittany wasn't careful then she would start developing some serious feelings for a woman she could have no hope of being with.
They went about eating their lunches, this time with Brittany not burning her mouth on the soup. The food was incredibly good, and Brittany was feeling a lot better after eating. Her ribs still felt really tight and she had some pain, but she really did feel like she could postpone taking another pain pill for a couple of hours.
"So, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Santana asked once she had cleared up the remnants of their food. "We can watch another movie, or we can watch TV. Or we can see if Rachel and Kurt want to come over for dinner later or something."
Brittany relaxed back into the couch, happy and content. Santana was looking at her with almost the same kind of content, but had a bit of apprehension in her eyes as if she didn't know how to keep Brittany entertained.
"It doesn't matter to me," Brittany told her honestly. "I want to try not to fall asleep for a little while yet, so maybe we could watch something and talk for a bit. And I think I would be fine to go home tonight. That way I could get out of your hair, and we could all maybe have a get together with dinner at my place tonight with Rachel and Kurt."
Santana's brows furrowed just the slightest bit. "Are you sure you will be okay to be on your own? I honestly don't mind if you have to stay here another night," she hurried to say. "I mean, not that you have to stay or anything. If you want to leave, certainly you can go, but I just don't want you to hurt yourself trying to do things you shouldn't be and…"
"Santana," Brittany interrupted. "I promise I won't do anything strenuous. Plus, we will all be hanging out tonight, so, if I feel like maybe I need some help then I can just ask Rachel or Kurt to stay or something so you don't have to take care of me anymore. I'm sure you have other things you could be doing."
Santana looked down at her fingers in her lap and sucked on her lips momentarily. "I don't mind helping, Britt. I like you, so I want to make sure you're okay," she said shyly. The words sent a tingle of pleasure through Brittany, making her think that Santana could maybe like her in that way and not just as a friend. But surely she was crazy for even considering it.
"But if you would rather have Rachel, or even Kurt, then that would be okay," Santana finished.
Brittany bit her lip on a smile. She didn't want to be apart from Santana, and would honestly prefer that she take care of her if needed as opposed to Rachel or Kurt. But she did feel a little guilty to rely on a woman she had only met a little over a week ago, and one who she had all kinds of tangled up feelings for. She was torn between wanting to be with Santana more, but also wanting to put some distance between them. It seemed like maybe Santana felt a little sad by the thought that Brittany would prefer someone else to help her out.
"How about we just see what tonight brings, okay? Then we can see what I would prefer to do," Brittany told her, which made Santana look up at her with the hint of a smile.
Santana nodded and turned to put the TV on a regular station. "So what do you want to watch?"
"I don't care. Whatever you want is fine."
Santana found a channel that was showing 'Bring It On' and put it on there. "Is this okay?"
Brittany grinned at her and clapped her hands a little. "I love this movie, San! I used to watch it all the time back in high school."
Santana grinned back. "I did, too. Although I don't think my cheerleading experiences were nearly as dramatic as theirs, but it is fun to watch."
Brittany laughed. "My cheerleading experiences were more dramatic, I think. Sue Sylvester was kind of insane."
Santana joined in her laughter. "Was it really that bad?"
"You have no idea." Brittany proceeded to tell her about the time that Coach Sylvester tried to convince Brittany to be shot out of a cannon.
"You're kidding me! Seriously, you are just joking, right?" Santana said through giggles.
"Completely serious."
"Oh my God, she really is insane!"
They laughed together and spent the rest of the movie comparing stories about cheerleading and getting to know each other better. Brittany discovered that Santana had a secret love of Broadway musicals, which Brittany was convinced was why she got along so well with Rachel, though Santana threatened to drop Brittany as a client if she ever told Rachel that she shared her passion. She also learned that Santana loved to sing, but knew she wouldn't have a good career in it, so decided to become a talent agent. Brittany made Santana swear to sing something for her sometime, though it took some cajoling.
Brittany told Santana that she had always been called stupid by everyone until she got into MIT due to her perfect SAT scores. She revealed that she didn't know her biological dad. And she told Santana that she still loved to color with crayons, though nobody else knew that about her since she got made fun of it a lot in her freshman year of high school.
Brittany loved learning more about Santana, and they became much more comfortable with each other. They made sporadic comments about whatever show was playing in the background after the movie was over, but mostly just talked about things in an effort to get to know each other better.
It was a couple hours later when Santana's phone went off with a text message notification. It was Rachel wondering if they wanted to get together tonight. Upon Brittany's instruction, Santana told Rachel to come over to Brittany's apartment around 7pm. She also told her to spread the word to Kurt and to expect dinner and drinks.
"You know you can't drink, right?"
Brittany rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know. The drinks are for you guys. I will probably get drunk enough off of my pain pill I take later."
Santana laughed, and they went about making plans for their dinner. Brittany decided to put off taking another pain pill, and instead asked for an Advil from Santana. She needed a little bit of pain relief and help fighting the inflammation from the injury, but she didn't want to knock herself out again before they even got to dinner.
Santana let her borrow some more clothes to wear back to her apartment, and around 5 o'clock they made their way over there. Santana was super watchful of Brittany as they made their way out of her building, and she threatened the cab driver with bodily harm if he didn't make the ride as gentle as possible.
Brittany was kind of nervous to have Santana come to her apartment. She still hadn't really settled into it, and things were pretty bare. Apart from some pictures of her family and Lord and Lady Tubbington, she hadn't really put much out. Also, it kind of felt like she was letting Santana into her life even more. She hoped that Santana kind of liked what she saw.
"So this is my place," she said as she opened the door to her apartment.
"Looks cozy," Santana told her with a genuine smile.
Brittany felt immediately relieved, knowing that Santana felt comfortable there, despite the lack of Brittany really putting much of a personal stamp on her apartment quite yet.
"So, I am gonna go change and stuff real quick. Make yourself at home."
Santana nodded and went to sit on the couch while Brittany headed back to her bedroom. She already showered at Santana's, so she just changed into some comfortable jeans and a loose top. She folded Santana's clothes and set them on her bed before she headed into her bathroom to put on some light make-up. She knew Santana had already seen her face completely bare, but she wanted to look at least somewhat presentable for her and their friends tonight.
She went back out to the living room to find Santana messing with her phone. It reminded her that she still hadn't responded to Quinn's text. She was surprised that Quinn hadn't started blowing up her phone.
"I left your clothes in the bedroom for now. Just remind me to give them back to you before you go," Brittany said as she joined Santana on the couch.
"Oh, don't worry about it. If I forget them, it isn't a big deal," Santana said easily.
They chatted for a few minutes before Brittany went ahead and ordered some pizzas to be delivered for them. Santana had offered to go out to the store in the meantime to pick up some wine and some food that Rachel would eat, so while she was out Brittany found a good playlist of music to provide some background noise for their group.
Santana got back before the pizza arrived, juggling three bottles of wine and a bag full of salad ingredients. Brittany grabbed two of the bottles of wine from her and she set them on her little kitchen table. She took the bag from Santana and put it in the fridge while Santana set the other bottle of wine down.
There was a knock on the door and Santana went to answer it, letting Brittany finish putting the stuff away. She heard the voice of the pizza delivery guy talking to Santana, so she yelled out for Santana to grab the money out of her purse.
She walked back toward the front door to see Santana sending the delivery guy on his way, her own wallet in her hand along with the two pizzas.
"Did you just seriously use your own money to pay for those?" Brittany asked with a little irritation.
"Yeah," Santana told her, unapologetic.
"I told you to use my money, Santana! You paid for food last night and this afternoon, and you got the wine tonight. I was going to pay for the pizzas, because, contrary to your opinion, I can actually pay for things!"
Brittany sighed in exasperation after she finished berating Santana. Santana just walked to the table and put the pizzas down before going back and putting her wallet in her purse. Then she calmly looked back at Brittany, clearly not caring about Brittany's irritation.
"I didn't want to go digging around your bag for money," Santana said. "Besides, my bag was closer."
Brittany opened her mouth to argue again, but another knock on the door prevented her from doing so. She pulled the door open a little harder than she should have, startling Rachel and Kurt on the other side and making herself wince at the pain in her ribs.
"Brittany," Santana quietly admonished, walking to her side. "Are you okay?"
Brittany gave her a strained smile, but nodded. She would be okay. "Hey guys, come on in," she said to her other friends.
"Hello, Brittany and Santana," Rachel greeted. "How are you doing tonight? How are you feeling, Brittany? Any considerable pain?"
Santana just rolled her eyes and walked away. Brittany greeted both Kurt and Rachel before explaining that she was feeling okay, and she was glad they came over.
"We've got some wine and pizza, and stuff for a salad for you, Rach," Brittany told them.
Santana was rummaging around in the kitchen drawers, looking for a corkscrew. "Where are the wine glasses, Britt?"
"I'll get them," Brittany said. "The corkscrew is the next drawer to your right."
Santana pulled it open and found what she was looking for. Brittany pulled down three wine glasses for her friends and put them on the table. Santana took responsibility for pouring out the alcohol, while Brittany got herself a glass of water and pulled out the stuff for Rachel's salad.
"I'll get that Brittany," Rachel offered, and took over making herself her dinner.
Santana had found the plates and set them out on the counter. She grabbed a couple of slices and put them on a plate, which she promptly handed to Brittany.
"Go sit down," Santana ordered gently.
Brittany knew better than to protest, so she made her way into the living room. She turned on the music, and the sounds of Journey helped fill the apartment.
"Feeling nostalgic?" Kurt asked her from the kitchen.
Brittany laughed. "Maybe a little bit. I just wish we could get everybody together again for a reunion."
"That would be awesome, but with most of the rest of us spread around the country, I don't know how easy that would be," Rachel said, joining Brittany in the living room with her salad and glass of wine. "This song always makes me think of Finn."
Brittany immediately felt horrible. "Oh, I'm sorry Rachel. I wasn't thinking. I can change it."
Rachel gave her a slightly sad smile along with a head shake. "No, don't worry about it. It gives me good memories."
"You sure?"
Rachel nodded, and Brittany gave her a comforting hug which the other woman gently returned. Brittany looked over Rachel's shoulder to notice Santana watching them, a slightly concerned look on her face. She could see the genuine affection in Santana's eyes, and knew that she was worried about both of them.
The next song kicked on, and made Kurt laugh. "Oh my God, I remember when we did this for glee club!"
Ke$ha's voice was coming from the speakers, and both Brittany and Rachel laughed as they settled back to eat their dinner.
"As long as we don't end up the same way tonight as we did during that performance, I think we will be okay," Brittany said, shuddering in remembrance of the drunken antics of the club, plus her own vomiting mishap.
Santana and Kurt joined them in the living room, sitting on the floor. They had fun reminiscing about high school and filling Santana in on the more entertaining moments of the glee club. Santana, Kurt, and Rachel had their own amusing stories to tell from college. It was a fun night filled with a lot of laughter, more singing than there should have been, and less dancing than Brittany would have normally done, which was to say none.
Her friends were delightfully tipsy, everyone was full on good food, and Brittany was glad to see everyone having a good time. She especially loved that Santana was enjoying herself. She still wasn't happy that Santana had used her own money to pay for the pizzas, but Brittany promised herself to pay the next time they all got together. It didn't really matter that much anyways.
As the night wore on, Brittany knew she really should take another pain pill. She had wanted to put it off, but her ribs were feeling tight and uncomfortable. She planned on getting up to do it, but Santana had beaten her to it and brought her the pill bottle and another glass of water. Brittany couldn't stop the huge smile that took over her lips once again at how amazingly sweet she found Santana.
It wasn't much longer after that when Brittany started to get drowsy. She tried to stay awake as she listened to Kurt and Rachel tell Santana about the time when Brittany was teaching everyone in the glee club about hairography, but she was losing the battle.
"Brittany. Hey, Brittany," a soothing voice tried to get her attention. "Come on, open those blue eyes for me."
Brittany's eyes fluttered open to see Santana smiling down at her. "There they are. I think it's time to put you to bed."
"Probably," Brittany murmured in agreement.
"How are you feeling? Did you need anybody to stay with you?" Santana asked.
Kurt and Rachel were lost in their own conversation, loudly arguing over some Broadway show or another, which meant that Santana and Brittany could converse in relative privacy.
"I think I'm okay, so if you would rather go home then that would be fine," Brittany answered.
Santana seemed to be disappointed, but Brittany was unable to tell for sure. She just looked at Brittany for a few seconds before she replied.
"If you're sure." Brittany nodded. "Okay. I guess I should help these two drunks get home. After I help you get to your bedroom, first."
Brittany laughed a little before it was taken over by a giant yawn. Santana helped her off of the couch, and she said her goodnights to her friends before she, leaning heavily on the brunette, made her way to her room. Santana set her down on the bed and, with Brittany's instruction, got her some pajamas to change into.
"Alright. I will be out there for a few minutes more, so if you need anything then just yell. Goodnight, Brittany."
"'Night, Santana. And thanks for everything."
Santana smiled at her and grabbed her folded clothes off of the bed before she left the room, closing the door behind her. Brittany changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, the soothing sounds of Santana's voice mixed with her other friends' as they prepared to leave making her smile. She fell into a happy sleep, hoping to dream of brown eyes and a beautiful smile.
A/N: Oh, so close! Do you guys think they would have actually kissed if Quinn hadn't have provided that timely interruption? Or would Santana have chickened out?
Santana is a pretty good caretaker, and it seems Brittany is quite smitten with the woman and her sweetness. Santana is clearly already falling in love, and it looks like Brittany is well on her way. How much longer do you think it is going to take them to make something happen? Or do you think people will keep getting in their way?
Any other thoughts or comments? I appreciate all of your reviews!
